Ghost of Utopia
by asterphoenix247
Summary: Being the daughter of Christopher Pike didn't make her perfect. No, she was as flawed and broken as it got but after meeting Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy her perspective changed. There was hope and with the help of friends, she could do anything. Bones/Oc/Jim. M for sex and discusions of suicide
1. Farm Boys and City Gals

The seats at the bar were just as uncomfortable as those in the Academy. That was certain. This didn't seem to effect anyone's decision to actually attend the small Iowa bar however, but it was sure damn annoying.

Arden kicked her seat around to look at the gleaming dance floor that was occupied with flashing lights, dancing people and thumping music that shook the entire complex. She would have normally glanced in awe from the sight, if she hadn't seemed to find herself at so many bars this summer alone. Luckily Iowa was the last stop of her three month exposition with her father, Christopher Pike, and she was thrilled to know that her journey back to the west coast was less than twelve hours away.

She turned back to the bar, her blonde hair whipping around as she did so, and placed the beer she had in her hands back on the counter. Arden glanced to her right, seeing her father a few seats down a glass of scotch in his hands. He seemed to be in a deep conversation with a high ranking officer and didn't notice her watching. When she turned back around, she noticed a tall blonde, slip into the seat beside her. His blue eyes were like daggers, as they gawked in her direction. Arden couldn't restrain her laughter. She had seen this approach too many times before.

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me I'm cute and ask for my number?"

A smirk slid onto the blonds' face as he too placed his beer on the table beside her. He leaned over and used his womanizing smile to grab her attention.

"I wasn't going to but that's a great idea. Hey, babe, that name's James Kirk. Number?"

"Cute." She smiled

"I would rather be called sexy or a stallion but I can settle with cute. So that number?"

Arden couldn't help but laugh again. What was up with this guy, and why couldn't he get that she didn't watch his attention? She picked up her beer once more and slipped out of the seat that she had been sitting in for the majority of the night. She shot the boy a fake smile and walked off toward the entrance of the bar hoping to retreat outside for a few moments to catch some air.

The boy caught up with her, the stupid grin still plastered on his face. He stopped in front of the door, blocking her entrance outside.

"Come on babe, I wasn't done getting you know you."

"Well I was. And guess what John-"

"It's Jim-"

"Stalking is a form or harassment and believe me I won't be afraid to punch you in the face if you don't stop?"

Her body had moved on its own and she found herself grabbing hold of the boy's shirt, as she gave him a very real realization. She hated the look on his face. The smug— arrogant expression that rested on his lips, as he looked down at her. Arden could see he liked this position more than he should have. She released him, her blue eyes still throwing spears at his face.

Right as she was about to spin around and get away from the native Iowan she felt a hand on the top of her back and recognizing from the hardness of the hands belonged to her father. He appeared from her side, a look of concern on his face. From the motion still on his body it was obvious he didn't come there to just check up on her.

"Everything okay, over here?"

Christopher Pike looked from her to Jim slowly. She could only guess that he saw something before he had headed over to their direction.

"Its fine daddy, I got it"

Arden noticed Jim mouth the word "Daddy" behind him in shock. She could only hope this would make the farm boy leave her alone for the rest of the night but from the way things were going with this kid, she doubted things would even consider going her way.

Her father took a moment to glance at her, but he eventually nodded his head.

"Alright. If you need anything I will be outside."

"Sure."

Both Jim and Arden watch as he took his step outside of the bar. As soon as she saw he was out of sight she tried yet again to make a break for it, hoping now to actually get away from this guy. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from getting anywhere.

"Did my threat mean nothing to you?"

Jim smirked. He was getting a kick out of this one that was for sure. The blond pulled her closer and rested a hand on the small of her back, fingers creeping underneath the red of her uniform. He hovered over her and began to whisper in her ear.

"Let's just say that hot and angry is a turn on."

She rolled her eyes and snatched his hand from her back and bent his wrist in a very painful and unnatural position. He moaned uncomfortably as she got on her toes so she could at least be at eye level. She could see that smirk returning to his face.

"What. Do. You. Want!"

She jerked on his wrist a bit more, just to give him a little more pain, before letting him go. He nursed his wounded wrist

"I told you, I want to get to know you like the basics, you know your name would be a good one. Maybe where you're from, cause there are defiantly not women like you in Iowa. Lord have mercy."

She sighed. It could have been much worse, she supposed. Maybe if she just game him the information he wanted he would leave her alone. Again, she highly doubt it but it was the best she could do.

"I'm from California."

"That's a big place mind being a bit more specific?"

"Sacramento."

"Ah, a city gal, and I thought you couldn't get anymore sexier." He swooned.

Three strikes and he was out. She couldn't believe this guy has so much time on his hands that he had to harass her even after she had given the information to him. It was unbelievable that he was still trying to flirt with her even after she stated she wasn't interested.

Arden flipped her hair over her shoulder and took a step away from Jim. She wanted to smack that smile off of his face so badly, but she knew what would happen if she even tried to start a fight here. She knew the amount of trouble she would be in if her father caught her or any of the other Cadets doing something like that, especially now.

"Why Starfleet?"

Jim's voice stopped her in her tracks.

Arden whipped around. "Excuse me?"

"I get it, you and me, not gonna happen. But you seem like a fun girl. Why Starfleet? You do know that everyone there has a stick up their ass and don't like doing anything exciting. Are you really going to sell your soul for _that_?"

This was the first time she had seen Jim actually out of his womanizing attitude. In all reality he really seemed annoyed, the way Starfleet seemed to come out of his mouth. Arden had to admit, Jim was right about the level of excitement that came with Starfleet. There wasn't much fun at the Academy except for the pranks some medical students made sometimes but other than that student were typically too centered around their work than to focus on other things.

Arden realized he was right. She had sold her soul to the Academy. Sure she could live without some fun, as long as she had the opportunities to made it to space. Still, it was hard to focus sometimes without a god break.

For the first time since she had met the blond, she smiled at him genuinely.

"I've had too much fun for one lifetime Jim."

"But this is selling your soul were talking about."

She nodded in agreement. She knew he was right it but wasn't as though it were her first year in the academy, no she had done that only a year earlier and didn't regret the decision too much.

Jim leaned an arm out toward her, his fingertips stopping at her hair. The tension that was once swarmed between the two blondes seemed to flutter in the different direction and the two stood silently smiling warmly toward one another.

"I really feel bad now. How about this, I have a bike out front, how about when we're done, this farm boy can show you what a good time is really like."

He flashed her a wink and she knew she was falling for him. She knew at that moment that putting her guard down with him was a mistake but she couldn't help but listen to his words. He was right. She had sold her soul. She couldn't even begin to think when was the last time she had any fun. Maybe a little fun was all she needed from this endless cycle of familiarity.

"I'll think about it. In the mean time, see you later farm boy. "

Arden left Jim in that spot for a very long time. She flashed him a smile and headed outside to where she knew her father was. He stood away from the illumination of the bars lights. She could hear the grumbling of his voice as he talked and recognized the feminine tone from the other side of the line as her mothers.

As Arden stepped out of the bar, she found her father glance over in her direction. He ended his call quickly and headed in her direction, a PADD in his hands. He seemed to be looking up something work related on it but quickly clicked out of the server as he walked over to her.

"You alright daddy?" Arden question, seeing something was a bit off about her father.

He nodded.

"You should call your mother." He directed calmly as he handed over the PADD . She didn't answer. It had been all summer since she had spoken to her mother and she was still fuming with memories about their latest fight. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to her mother, especially now.

"Did you hear me Arden."

"yes sir."

She spoke automatically and she ran her fingers across the PADD. She needed something, anything she could find on that farm boy. Her latest impression on the kid wasn't the greatest but she did tell him she would consider going with him to have some fun. Of course she didn't know what his definition of fun was but she was hoping there was something on that stupid thing that would reassure her that he wasn't just a womanizing hick.

She prayed there was something, anything that would reassure her that he wasn't as bad as he made himself out to be. She wanted an adventure. She wanted to have some sort of fun before going back to her same old boring life in the academy and was a hoping Jim would be that calling.

As she ran through the PADD she hit a restricted section for searches. Arden glanced over at her father.

"You can get access to peoples files on this right?"

"I can, you on the other hand…"

He trailed off as she held the page open for him. Pike sighed deeply and quickly punched in the security code that kept her out of the good stuff. Pike held the PADD out toward her once more but pulled it back as she was about to grab it. He didn't trust her, not one bit.

"Who are you trying to search?"

"That boy I was talking to."

Pike stared at her for a moment more, very hesitant on giving her the information.

"What?"

"Who says he's even going to be on here?"

"Who says he won't?"

He knew she had a point and eventually he handed it over. She thanked him politely and ran the name Jim Kirk through the system. She was hit with a page that read NO ITEMS FOUND. She tried again, this time inserting the name James Kirk. That was the way he introduced himself after all. The PADD took longer than she would have liked to run through the name. As soon as she found a match however the sound of the bar erupted.

Neither Christopher nor Arden reacted to the chatter from inside. It was probably something stupid even if some cadets were running out of the bar as though they had just escaped trouble. When the few noticed her and her father they stopped and acknowledged Christopher as their superior officer. He didn't take much mind to them even if he did great them nicely.

"Well I found him." Arden commented running through Kirk's file with such interest. She couldn't even begin to believe this was the same person she had had a conversation with only moments before hand.

The file had everything to do with Jim Kirk, it had his offences, his school grade and medical records and even parental information. She noticed the name George Kirk as it resided on the parental part of the file and how it listed him as "Captain" of the USS Kelvin, the same ship she knew her father had been on 22 years pervious.

"You'll never believe what I found on that farm boy."

Before her father could ask, a few more Cadets sprang from the bar, the noise that occupied the complex wasn't majority of music but of glass being broken and the sound of punches and people yelling. Bar Fight. She couldn't believe the amount of bar fights these Cadets had gotten into this season. Pike heard the commotion as well and guessed like she had.

"Not another one," Christopher muttered, "Give me a moment."

She couldn't help but fallow as her father reentered the Iowan bar. The two family members sighed heavily. The bar had been dragged to hell and back and from the looks of it, not much of anything had survived. At least four Cadets seemed to be in a fight with a man who was slung over a table.

Everyone inside the bar hear the screeching of the whistle her father used to catch the attention of his Cadets. The man who had been punching the boy on the table finally stopped and dropped everything as though he were a child caught with the cookie jar.

"Outside, all out of…now!"

The cadets ran from where they were in the bar. As they shuffled out in a semi orderly fashion Arden noticed the leather jacket slung over the man on the table. Jim had worn the exact same thing moments before. She brought her hand to her face, shaking her head as she did so.

Jim rolled his head back, a dazed look on his face as blood oozed from his mouth and nose.

"You can whistle really loud, do you know that?"

Arden bit down on her lip to quiet her laughter as Jim passed out on the table and rolled to the floor. Arden took a peak over at her father. He was simply shaking his head at Jim before he looked back over at her.

"Is that the kid?"

"Yep, that's James Tiberius Kirk." She read directly from the PADD in her hands.

She saw the way her father's ears buckled as he heard the name. He wasn't just some farm boy anymore that was for sure.

"Kirk you said?"

"Yep, its right here." Arden brought the PADD over to her father's side and let him read the information on Jim's file. If she were to say so herself, her dad seemed just as interested in Jim Kirk as she was. "Do you know who he is, Dad?"

"I knew his father on the USS Kelvin." Christopher spoke as he took the PADD from her hands. He was scrolling though the information the way she had.

"Yeah, I read that in his file. His file also had his aptitude tests and let me tell you they are off the charts. Yet Starfleet is not on his radar."

Her father nodded still scanning through the file.

"Well maybe he needs a simple nudge in the right direction."

They both glanced over at Jim who lied motionless on the floor, both making a face as they looked at him.

"Just get the kid off the ground." Chris complained. He looked in pain; just watching Jim has his face sat plastered again the cold floor. Arden frowned as a mixture of drool and blood coming from Jim's mouth.

"Do I have to? I mean he's drooling for god sake."

"Cadet," Chris spoke firmly and she stopped whining. "Would you rather take care of the others outside?"

That seemed even worse than the first option. She took a deep breath and put on her best fake smile.

"Alright Jimbo, let's get you off that floor!"

Arden strode and grabbed hold of Jim's shoulder to hoist him off of the ground. She noticed the smile on her father's face as he left the bar to tend to the others who he had instructed to leave.

Jim was exceptionally heavy. She had to drag him across the ground before she could get him on a chair. He had managed to wake up occasionally in the process and somewhat help her. By the time her father had come back inside the bar Jim was already in a seat, his forehead resting on the table.

She huffed and placed her hands on her hip.

"How is he doing?" Her father asked.

Arden learned over and grabbed Jim by the hair, pulling his head off the table. Jim still looked dazed and cocky even after everything. His blue eyes met hers and he give her a goofy grin.

"Is this Heaven cause you're-"

She dropped his head back down before he could finish and gave her dad a look.

"Yeah, he's fine."

She noticed her father chuckle and he walk over to the table. He pulled a seat over for himself and sat opposite of Jim.

"Need me for anything else?"

"I just need a moment here with Jim. I'll find you when we're finished here honey."

And with that, Adren left, leaving Jim and her father to a needed conversation.


	2. The USS Enterprise

When James Kirk stepped out of the deserted Iowa bar, half past 2, he did not expect to find the girl in her red cadet uniform, slumped against his bike. She shined a smile that reached ear to ear as he strutted slowly toward his mode of transportation. The metal keys, to the bike, dangled from his hands as he stopped in front of her.

He was drunk and a bit confused but out all things, what really seemed to make sense was that there was a pretty girl waiting for him. He couldn't help but smirk and comb his blond hair back as he looked down at her.

"If you're looking for that daddy of yours, he left a while ago." Jim mumbled a smile creeping onto his face.

"I know he did but I wanted a word before I left."

Jim's brows arched

"And exactly what would that be?"

It was habit, the way he pressed his hips against the Captain's daughter, trapping her between him and his bike. Even after the brutal beating he hadn't learned much of a lesson on not flirting with Starfleet Cadets.

Unlike the rest of the night she didn't complain about his behavior. She laughed and pushed some of her light hair out of her face as a gush a wind went by.

"Well," She started, "I told my dad I wanted to have some fun before I got back home and that a semi-attractive farm boy offered to help me."

"So my speech about you losing your soul actually had an effect?"

The hint of shock in his voice told it all. Arden could only guess what was probably going through Jim's mind. She could only guess from what she knew about the boy that it had something to do with gloating. He was probably thrilled to know that he was right about something. Well good for him.

She shook her head, that smile hadn't faded a bit.

"It's not like that at all Jim. I just happened to realize that you were right. Maybe I should be a bit risky and why not test my luck with a complete stranger?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing."

She couldn't hold in her laugh as another gush of wind come shifting by. This time it was Jim who fought it, he held her hair away from her face his eyes praying for its next meal.

"So we're hanging out?" Jim's voice grumbled from the back of his throat.

Arden bit her lip. "The thing is, he said I couldn't go out, but I'm an adult. I think if I want to spend my nights with farm boys, I can."

She tried her best to play off an innocent smile but she saw the way Jim caught in the act. She exaggeratingly rolled her eyes and reached into the pocket of her blazer, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. She slid the information from her hand to his in a sly manner so that her father, who was watching the two, wouldn't see. She had spent the minutes as Jim and her father talked, as a way to write the needed information down. She only hoped her efforts would pay off.

"That's the address. It's about a mile west of the inn we are spending the night. Let's meet up in about a half hour."

Jim nods and Arden pats the blond on the top of the head. She didn't bother saying bye as she turned and begin to walk to her father who had been standing waiting for the two young adults to finish.

She didn't even think about stopping when Jim yelled, "wait" behind her. She wanted to get out while she was still ahead it was like the weight of the world rested on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder.

"I never did get that first name of yours!" Jim stated

"It's Arden… Pike."

"Arden, I'll remember that."

She flashed him a wink and hoped to god he would save her.

Arden had to admit she was shocked to find James T. Kirk waiting for her at the Riverside Shipyard a half hour since their last encounter. She was certain the farm boy would have stood her up once realizing their nightly encounter didn't involve sex of any kind. She was impressed to say he wasn't as bad as she had thought.

When Arden found the native Iowan, he had his bike pressed against a fence located on a small field. He used that fence too to anchor himself as he had his arms crossed over his chest. His signature womanizing smirk danced across his lips as he watched her cross the field to him.

The blood from the bar fight had been stripped off of his skin and he looked just like the kid who had flirted with her earlier that night.

"I had to wait over ten minutes for you." Jim started.

"Do you regret it?"

"Nope."

"Then don't complain farm boy," she instructed with a smile. There's a pause between the two and she raises her hand to the construction across the field. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you brought me all the way over here to look at a dumb starship."

Jim kicked himself off of the fence and strode to her side, arms still crossed over his chest. Arden sighed.

"No, I brought you here so we can look at the USS Enterprise."

"So, a piece of junk that you and your Starfleet people have been working on for years?"

Jim clicked his tongue on the bridge of his mouth and gave her an a-okay. She gawked as Jim began to walk closer and closer to the starship he had just insulted.

"What are you doing?" she called.

"I want a closer look. Come on." He waved at her to fallow but she didn't. Jim held his hands out in confusion and jogged back. This time he held out his hand, eagerly waiting for her to take it. "Come on."

"I don't know Jim…"

"You are just like them, with that stick up your ass. You said you wanted to have some fun, so trust me."

He continued to hold out his hand. His blue eyes practically begged her to take it. Arden held her hand out hesitantly, her head running with all sort of thoughts. She could feel the pressure under her. Jim looked as though he were holding his breath waiting and finally gave up. He didn't wait for her to take his hand. He took it for her and ran with it.

The two zipped through the grass quietly till they got to the fences holding off the perimeter of the ship. Things seemed to run buy quickly. She could remember Jim helping her over and fence and then getting himself across as well but the details were blurry. All she could really remember was the way he held her hand through it all, as though he were trying to transfer all his courage onto her. She had to admit, it was working.

There wasn't much to look it from the outside but the two were in awe. The ship was more massive than they thought and they felt like ants compared to it. It was certain that no one else would ever get this same view.

"Told you this would be better up close."

"You're right." She whispered.

Arden finally let Jim's hand go as she began to investigate the outside of the ship on her own. She had recognized certain thing on the ships exteriors from some of her classes but didn't point it out.

It was a mistake to keep her sight off of Jim. When Arden looked back she had found Jim sticking his head into a torpedo compartment.

"The hell are you doing?"

Jim jerked and accidently bumped the back of his head on the inner walls. He winced and looked over at her, a hand reaching for the back of his head.

"I was just trying to figure out what that was."

"It for photon torpedoes, but I guess you can fit mostly any torpedo in that but they're specifically designed for Photon torpedoes."

Arden found herself back at Jim's side as she explained.

"How do you know that?"

"It's easy, initially you can tell from the diameter of the hole, what sort of missile could come out of it plus photon torpedoes are all the rage in Starfleet so it's pretty obvious. Plus considering how many are placed on the ship that seems to be the most likely substance. If this were a Klingon vessel however you would probably find more openings for torpedoes along this side and other particle beam weapons along here."

She barely noticed her rambling. Words spit out of her mouth as though she were telling someone the ABC's. The information was so fluid in her memory that it was too easy to spit back the information. She didn't see at all, the way Jim's mouth hung open as she continued to talk about the ship.

He could only watch as she seemed to skip to the side she had explored on her own a moment ago and started to point of things on that side as well.

"What's supposed to be really interesting about the Enterprise is the fact that they are trying to apply more Phasers onto the ship for you know, "safely reasons" and such. If you look over here you can see from the-"

Arden finally turned to look at Jim and stopped.

"What?"

"I have no idea what you are saying." Jim confessed with a laugh. "How do you know so much about this thing?"

"Its standard weaponry," She responded as though everyone knew the answer. "I learned most of it last year in the Academy. I'm actually tying to study the development of combat and weaponry throughout alien cultures."

"Wow hot and smart"

She replied with a "thank you", though she was sure this was the first time she had ever given Jim an emotional response to his comments. She could feel her face burning up after the last compliment and tried to hide herself behind her hair.

She was certain Jim wasn't paying too much attention to her reaction. His mind had wondered to bigger and greater things. For example, the inside of the Enterprise. He had found one of the entrances to the ship and was punching in random numbers to break the entrance code.

He finally cursed after getting the coding wrong for the third time.

"Need some help?" Arden asked.

"Be my guest."

Jim held out an arm so she could give it a try. She gave the device a swipe and punched in the only code she knew. Her birth date. Arden had taken her father's log in and pass-code to be granted access to the inside of the facility. High ranking officers did get certain information lower raking officers didn't, and she just happened to like being well informed. Of course she would never let him know she knew his pass-code.

Her stunt with the files earlier that day just proved that she wasn't going to risk her father questioning whether or not she had the availability to all the information he had. So she chose to let him do all the fun work when it was necessary.

It only took Arden one try to get the doors to open. She ended up looking over her shoulder at her companion.

"Benefits of having your father as a captain." She stated and jumped into the standing ship. Jim fallowed closely behind her and the two found themselves consumed by white walls. Arden had to blink a few times to make sure she was alright. The curved white walls and ceiling with the combination of the black flooring created an illusion of a never ending tunnel.

There were no directions, no nothing. The two walked aimlessly taking turns when they felt like it, their only goal to Explore. Really did look like some sort of exotic spaceship.

The two companions didn't talk for a while. The only thing that was exchanged between the two was the clapping of their shoes against the pavement.

"You know," Jim finally piped in, "I might consider it."

"Consider what?"

"Joining the Academy. Your dad made a pretty damn good argument I will give him that. Plus have you seen this thing it's just…"

"Beautiful?"

"Yeah" he sighed. Falling a little bit behind her. She continued to walk down the hallway unnoticed that Jim was no longer by her side. When she did turn around she noticed Jim's eyes glued to the top of one of the doors. "Want to go to the bridge?"

"Where is it?"

Jim pointed at the door he seemed so fascinated over and she shrugged. Jim ended up taking the first step into the unoccupied vessel. The bridge was alluring even without a crew inside. Chairs lined against the wall, all position for a certain station and in the middle sat "the chair." The almighty Commands Chair. The one everyone talked about the most.

"I thought it would be bigger." Jim complained as he stopped right in front of it. Arden refused to hold in her laugh as she walked up behind her new friend. She placed her hands on his shoulders and did her best to lean in toward his ear.

"Just take a seat, _Captain_."

Jim whipped around shock pillared in his eyes. Arden retreated to the chair where the helmsmen typically sat. She shot Jim a look, gesturing for him to take the seat. He listened. It was all mental, the way he leaned back slowly in the Commands Chair, getting used to the feel of it. When she saw he was comfortable enough she cleared her throat.

"Where to Captain Kirk?" Arden questioned playfully. She pretended to be hitting the pad as though she knew exactly what she was doing but her eyes were strictly on Jim.

The captain talk seemed to get him in the mood. He leaned over to the edge of the seat his eyes mounted on the giant viewscreen in front of him. She could only imagine he was picturing the image of space in front of him as though he really were the captain on the Enterprise.

"Captain?" she called again. "Where would you like to go?"

"The stars."

"Isn't it wise of a captain to inform his crew first?"

"Don't test me _first officer_." Jim warned. A devilish smirk settled onto his lips as he looked from her to the pad on the Commanders Chair. He hit a button and cleared his throat.

"Attention USS Enterprise this is your Captain, Jim Kirk speaking—" There was a pause and a faint echo of Jim's voice vibrated through the entire ship. Arden's eyes widen at first, she hadn't expected the technology to already be in tack. But she couldn't help it. She blurted out into laughter and hunched over on her seat trying to contain herself. "Currently out helmsmen, Ms. Pike is unfit for duty due to her uncontrollable laughter. From the look of it, this laughter will cause the Enterprise to crash to an unknown planet. I bid you, my crew, farewell, Kirk out."

"You are such a pain in the ass."

"What want me to make another announcement_, _first officer?" he teased and pressed his finger on the pad again. Instead of the echo from before a sharp piercing sound of an alarm went off. The two jumped.

"Did you just break the enterprise?"

"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Jim yelled.

They both hear it. Not the sound of Jim's yell, no it was much worse. From the catwalk the two had been in moments earlier, they heard the sound of shoes stomping, running in their direction. _Crap_. They both knew it, they were done for if someone—anyone found them on that ship.

Jim cursed and sprang off the Commanders Chair his eyes scanning the bridge for another way out. His eyes widened and he launched across the bridge, grabbing her in the process and pulling her toward an object that was shaped like an elevator.

"Will this take us out?" Jim asked with urgency in his voice. He looking over his shoulder, awaiting the unexpected visitors to walk onto the bridge.

"I'm the wrong person to ask. I've never been on a ship before I only happened to know that weapon stuff because of class."

"Think!" Jim yelled, taking old of her shoulders and giving her a little shake.

"The sickbay should have something. It would only make sence since they need to get supplies in and out of the ship."

"What floor?"

The doors to the bridge swung open with a swish and running in were security personal a phaser in each one of their hands. Each man in uniform pointed and shot in their direction.

They both cursed. Arden started pressing the button anxiously to get the elevator to show up faster while Jim dodged a few shots aimed at himself. The time frame was too short for either one to notice if the phaser guns were set at stun or kill but neither wanted to find out.

The door finally slid open and Arden was the first one inside. She ushered Jim in as she pressed a button to one of the lower levels of the complex. He didn't hear her over the sound of the shots but she made sure to take hold of the back of his shit as a shot came directly at him.

Jim tripped, landing on his ass in the process, but he was safe. The glass doors began to close fast, but not fast enough. There wasn't much time to react. She saw it, saw it coming. A shot from one of the phaser's zoomed through the tiny opening and smashed against her left shoulder.

She was knocked out before she hit the ground


	3. I need a Doctor

Christopher Pike wore cologne. Cologne that had a pleasant scent of leather and burned wood all mixed into one. Arden had picked out the particular fragrance the year before for Father's Day, so when she woke up to the smell, she made nothing of the fact that the aroma swirled through the room.

She nuzzled against the pillow under her, her head pounding from the damage done from the previous night. She hadn't had a hangover like this all summer and regretted the amount she drank. Arden kept her eyes closed; hoping to ignore the light shining down on her but it was hard. She groaned loudly trying to fight back the sensations that were suddenly coming back to her all at once.

As she tried to escape, footsteps seemed to pound on the floor. Yep, this had to be the worst hangover ever.

The bed squeaked under her as the footsteps finally stopped. She could feel the weight of her father beside her as he reached over with his warm hand and turning her face, out of her pillow. Right away the scent of the cologne trickled to her nose yet something smelled off. Alcohol. She couldn't smell it before but it was clear her father had been drinking

"Time to get up darlin'"

Arden felt that warm hand pat her cheek a few time as though in attempt to wake her from her slumber. She groaned again and turned away from her dad in an attempt to ignore the unmistakable call.

"Five more minutes daddy." She murmurs in the process of turning over to her side again to hopefully get a few more minutes of rest.

There's silence.

"I ain't your daddy hon." The voice came again, a bit more agitated than before.

A moment passed. The fog in her brain seemed to lift. Her eyes jolted open and her body stiffened at the realization. That wasn't her father. No, he didn't sound like that at all.

It was in an instant her body shot up. It was like being hit by a truck, the way her senses had to spark alive after being on hibernate for so long.

The man sitting on the bed wasn't her father even if he did smell like him. He had dark dirty hair and an unshaven face. He was close to her, too close to her liking. There was no way to stop the adrenaline running through her body. She had barely notice herself grabbing a pen from the nightstand table and putting it dangerously close to the man's neck.

"If you don't tell me who the hell you are and what I'm doing here, I'm going to stick this pen right in your aorta!" Arden threatened.

The man sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. He held his hands in the air showing her no threat.

"My name's Leonard McCoy. I'm a doctor. I found you lying in the middle of the hallway, that thing on your shoulder," he gestured his head to her left shoulder where she looked down. A giant burn slashed through her skin. She hadn't noticed till that moment that her Cadent Reds were off and that she was in a tank top, one that she wasn't her own.

In the corner of her eye she sees him shift a bit on the bed and her instincts strike back. She presses the pen a bit closer to the skin of his neck, not sure what he would try to pull on her next.

"I'm warning you, I will use this unless you don't care that much about your aorta!"

"Darlin' your aorta is in your chest."

McCoy, as he called himself, took hold of her wrist and pried the pen out of her grasp. As soon as he got his hand on it, he chucked it across the room and got off the bed.

Arden sat there, not knowing what to do. Should she stay? Go? She didn't know, but from the looks of it, if he did want to do anything with her, he would have done it already.

Her eyes lingered on Leonard. He was scratching the back of his neck as he shuffled over to a wooden dresser on the other side of the room. She watched as he picked up a small canteen and chugged down the contents from inside, his Adams apple bobbing with every swallow.

He sighed in relief, and turned back to face her. He pressed his body against the dresser, using it as something to lean against as he studied her from afar. His fingers were twiddling with the rim of the canteen as he stared.

"You going to tell me how you got yourself stunned on the arm like that?"

She tried thinking about it. How _did_ she get hit on the arm? Nothing in her memory served her well. She could feel that there was something wrong. Some part of her day she was missing, but she couldn't figure it out. Everything after the bar was just blank.

Arden ended up shrugging.

"I don't remember how." She confessed, and tried to take the sheets off of her body but a ripple of pain shot through her arm as she did so. She winced in reaction.

"Damn it woman, you need to keep that shoulder of yours still if you want it to get better."

She listened and tried to stay as still as she could. She saw the doctor head to some bags that were sitting on the floor. He began scrimmaging through it, throwing some things out in to a pile and placing some other things beside him. She noticed as he went through his opened bags, a red Cadet uniform peeking between other contents of clothes.

"You part of the Academy?"She asked

The doctor stopped this scrimmaging and his eyes too, caught the red Cadet uniform wrinkled and in a mess. Leonard looked over his shoulder, a particularly ill-tempered expression on his face.

"What's it to you?"

"Just wondering…"

He went back to looking for whatever he was searching for.

"I only asked because I've never see you there?"

He again stopped his searching and gave her a look. She took this as a sign to shut her mouth and let the doctor do his work in peace. It took him another minute to find what he was looking for but when he did, he returned to the bed and opened up a small jar filled with a jelly substance.

He instructed her coldly, to lean back against the frame of the bed and hold the strap of the wife beater out of his way. She obliged to his commands and he dipped swab into the jelly before applying it to her skin.

The stench of the cologne he was wearing was distracting. She couldn't get the fatherly figure image out of her head. Even though McCoy wasn't her father she did feel like he had some fatherly experience to him. It must have been his nurturing tendency, the way he steady glided the swab over her skin, not being hard at all. It was as though he were in a daze, his mind solely focused on what he was doing medically.

"This stuff I am putting on it should help." The doctor finally stated after a while, "Should take a few days for it to completely heal."

Arden nods wondering if she should even attempt to try and say something back. She could see that he seemed happier that she didn't.

"So you really don't know what happened?"

She tried again, this time concentrating really hard on the night before. Arden could remember the bar clearly and how the lights danced around the ceiling. She could also remember the scent of alcohol lining the floor after the bar fight and how there was a boy lying on a table, the shit knocked out of him.

She knew the night had something to do with the boy. The mysterious blond with blue eyes and a womanizing smile yet, nothing. She couldn't find anything in her memories that told her what had happened after the bar. She had glimpses, memories, of her hand in his but that was the best she could do.

Her memory served her ill.

Arden ended up shrugging to the male beside her.

"I have these glimpses of what happened but nothing really helps."

Doctor McCoy nodded his head slowly and looked her in the eye. It was as though a force led their two bodies closer. He was staring obsessively, his brows frowning in the process.

It made her nervous, the way he looked at her as though she were just a piece of meat. Flashes popped in her head. It was the blond boy. She could recall the way he looked at her this glow in his eyes as he did so, but this guy. This doctor, there was something weird about the way he looked at her.

"Can I help you with something?" She finally asked.

"You're pupils are dilated."

"So?"

"Any headaches or buzzing in the ear?"

"How did you—"

He cut her off sharply and finally pulled away.

"You have a concussion. You must have hit that head of your after getting stunned." Arden cursed as he went on. "It explains why you have no recognition of what happened or how you got burned. Tell me, what was the last thing you remember?"

He was multi tasking again. His hands in the need to do _something_. She told him what she could. She told him about the bar, the fight and of course the boy. The mysterious boy she had met that night before she returned to the inn. By the time she had finished telling him everything, he had found what he was looking for. A bottle of blue pills. He gave her one, telling her it would help ease the headache.

She took it down without water. When she got it down she stared at him like some sort of lost puppy, not knowing what to do next.

"What do I do now?"

"What do you mean "what do I do now"? You're going to head back to your room, pack your things and take that 8 am shuttle back to San Francisco that's what!"

She couldn't explain the certain shift in attitude but certainly blamed it on the alcohol. Arden leaped out of the bed, picked her Cadet uniform off of the ground and headed to the door where Doctor McCoy met her. He opened it like a gentleman and she stopped, a thought finally arising in her head,

"Aren't I going to see you there?"

"Darlin', you'll be damn lucky to see me."

And with that he slammed the door right in her face.

* * *

AN: _You made it to the end of Chapter 3! You are awesome but you would be even more awesome if you left a review. It can seriously be anything. If you have any thoughts, questions, comments leave it below and believe me I will answer and reply to every single one. Also which do you prefer, long chapters or short ones? Hope you guys have a great day and again thank you for reading. _


	4. death of a friendship

_AN: sorry for not getting a chapter up sooner. For some strange reason I had a very hard time with this one. I ended up doing 4-5 versions of this chapter in the past few days and I felt like the one I am posting now would eventually bring the story in the direction I was aiming for. Also let's see if you can catch the Doctor Who and Sherlock references in this chapter._

* * *

"Nice ride man!" Jim heard from a shipyard worker, once he killed the engine of his bike. He hopped off, and kicked the stand as he tossed the startcard to the man who had complimented his ride.

"Live it up." Jim instructed, as he passed by the guy.

He brought nothing with him. No bags, no clothes, no nothing, just the clothes on his back and a positive attitude. Jim strode through the shipyard, toward the shuttle, that was supposed to leave minutes earlier. The 8 am shuttle, ready for its departure for San Francisco, California was sitting steadily on the ground. Jim could see Captain Christopher Pike, at the door greeting him with a smile.

"Four years, I'm going to do it in three."

Jim clapped his hands on Pike's shoulder and took a step inside the shuttle, doing his best to stay friendly and have the least amount of contact with the Captain as he possibly could. After the conversation the night before, Jim didn't have much to say to him.

Pike didn't seem to get the memo however. Before Jim could blend in with the other Cadets, who were ready for their travel to the West coast, Pike called out for him. Jim stopped, an urge to roll his eyes came over him but he remembered, he was one of his bitches now and he had to show his superior officer some respect… or at least as much respect as he deserved.

Jim turned around and found Pike with a very serious look on his face.

"Remember what we talked about James."

Jim sighed, how could he forget?

_Even in the break of chaos he remembered what she said, "it's about a mile west of where we are staying". One Mile West. It was the first place Jim thought about taking her after escaping the Enterprise. He dragged her unconscious body out of the turbolift and somehow managed to find the sickbay. She was right about the exit and everything. He found it with some difficulty, but damn did he find it. Everything went quickly in his memory. The way he slung her over his back as he rushed to his bike, the way he somehow managed to keep her straight as he drive back to the Inn and yet the worst was yet to come._

_Jim placed Arden down on the floor. Her light hair draped over her face as her head hung down. They were alone inside one of the Inn's hallways. Jim propped her back against a wall and hesitated to touch her. He saw the dark vivid burn marks line the skin of her shoulder and all he wanted to help. _

_He took a deep breath and thought. His best bet would be to put her in her room, at least when she woke up things wouldn't be as bad. He settled with that plan and reached his hands into her small pockets._

_"Damnit, how do you women keep anything in these tiny pockets of yours?" he mumbled to himself._

_He pulled the keys out and read the room number quickly. 221. He cursed as he found the number to the room they were near. 104. They weren't even on the right floor._

_ "Arden, just wait for me right here. I'm going to be right back."_

_He knew she couldn't hear him but he liked to pretend like she did. Jim ran. He was going to find the room and be right back. It was better than dragging her all over the place in an attempt to find the room, plus nothing would happen, everyone was asleep._

_ Jim ran up the stairs, turning a few corners until he was in the 220s. He gripped the key anxiously and finally reached the last turn._

_ He hated his luck. Why was today just such a bad day? First the bar fight, which he confessed wasn't THAT bad, but getting Arden hurt, wasn't his plan and neither was this. No, this was much worse. Out of all things, the first person he saw as he turned the corner was Christopher Pike. The last person he wanted to see. He wasn't sure if Pike saw him but Jim instantly turned back around and headed back the corner he had come from._

_ "Son don't even try!" Pike's voice echoed around the corner._

_Jim cursed and felt the blood in his body rush through his veins. His body was ready to make a run for it but something in his head stopped him. Pike had already caught him and running now would only cause more problems for Arden in the long run._

_He hated it, the way he poked his head around the corner to greet Pike with a smile. _

_"Hey Captain Pike, weird seeing you here. I didn't know you guys were staying here too."_

_It was clear neither wanted to see the other. Christopher shook his head. His eyes indicating he wasn't buying his crap one bit. Pike gestured Jim over and he fallowed, making sure he stuffed Arden's keys in his pocket as he did so._

_He wasn't slick about it at all. Pike glanced over at Jim's pocket and then back at him, his brow raised in interest._

_ "What are in your pockets?"_

_"Keys to my house," He lied and their eyes locked, "What man, can a guy not carry his keys in his pocket?"_

_Pike didn't take any of Jim's bullshit. Jim eventually sighed and dug the keys out of his pocket handing them over to Pike. He knew something, exactly what, Jim wasn't too sure about but he was certain it had something to do with the pass codes that granted them access to the Enterprise. _

_When Christopher Pike took hold of the key, Jim could see the way his eyes widened slightly as he realized it was the keys to his daughter's room. He didn't say anything but from Jim's point of view it looked as though he were simply disappointed, mostly at his daughter._

_It took a moment for Pike to collect himself, he seemed to momentarily forget Jim was with him but when he had caught himself he gave Jim a hard look._

_ "Let me ask you something Kirk, when I mentioned Riverside shipyard last night I did mentioned eight correct?"_

_"Yeah, so?"_

_"Mind explaining what Arden and you were doing there about a half hour ago?"_

_He knew. Jim mentally cursed. He wasn't going to admit it. Sure Pike knew about _someone_ being on the Enterprise but there was no evidence it was Arden and him. _

_Jim gave Pike an equally demanding look. He had something up his sleeve. Something Pike wasn't going to be pleased about._

_"Why do you think we were even over here? You did after all see your daughter's room keys in my pocket, so tell me _Captain_, what seems to be the likeliest explanation as to where we were?" _

_He knew it was bad, pretending like he had slept with her, but he was sure that would fool him or at least get him angry enough so that he would forget about the Enterprise._

_But no, Pike was more right minded than that._

_"Kid, I like you, I really do, but don't lie to my face and especially don't lie about my daughter." _

_"I don't have to take any of your shit man. I'm not one of your Academy kids!" _

_"You really want to spend the rest of your life like this? Being a good for nothing town boy? I'm giving you an opportunity to make a fresh start Kirk. No one will care about who you used to be, the only important thing is the man you'll become."_

_This was the first time Jim saw him genuinely angry, frustrated that he wasn't taking anything he was saying seriously. Jim froze, not from fear. No it was confusion. He couldn't understand why someone who had met him only hours ago seemed to have such high expectations of him._

_It caught him off guard. No one kicked him around the way Pike did. Not his mom, or step-dad, or Uncle Frank. The only person he could think that even tried to push him in the right direction was George, his older brother, but he hadn't seen George since he was eleven. _

_"Why do you have all this faith in me?"_

_"Because I saw the man your father became and I can see that quality in you too." Jim defiantly found it weird, the silence that had settled between the two. Even Pike seemed to change as he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I want to help you out son, but I can't do that, if I don't know what happened back in the Riverside shipyard." _

_Jim studied the look in Pike's eyes. He couldn't understand this man at all. He had plain out lied to his face about his daughter and he was still being nice? In a way he envied Arden, for having such a person in her life that cared so much for her._

_He couldn't stop himself from spilling all. He told Pike how they got inside the Enterprise how she went on to tell him all these things about the ship. He told him about their exploration and their little activities on the Bridge. He told him about the security guards and how Arden had pulled him out of a shot and got herself stunned in the process. When Jim finished Pike didn't seem angry at all, just concerned both for him and his daughter._

_ "These guys are going to want to press charges for breaking and entry and they especially want to do something after she used my pass codes," Jim nodded, "I will take care of it, but if I do you have to promise me something."_

_"What."_

_"After tonight, you're nothing going to talk to my daughter."_

_This hit him like a shot from a phaser. He could barely speak as he processed what Pike had told him._

_"You have to be fucking kidding me!" he finally roared_

_"I just don't want something like this to happen again. Arden has a lot of things she needs to focus on and boys aren't one of t hem."_

_"Well, she could make that decision herself."_

_Pike sighed. All communication between the two was lost. _

_"Sometimes a parents needs to be able to push their children in the right direction Jim, I hope you can understand that."_

_It wasn't good enough for him. No, the explanation Jim heard was stupid. Whatever happened to her free will, whatever happened to letting someone reach their full potential on their own?_

_"You really think she's not going to say anything about this bullshit?" Jim asked_

_"I'll take care of her, you on the other hand, take care of yourself." _

Jim sighed, how could he forget their conversation at all. Even thinking about it made him angry. Jim could see Pike waiting for a response. He had to remind himself to not to give him too much of an attitude and did his best to smile.

"Of course I remember what we talked about. How could I forget, it was after all the dumbest thing I've heard you say yet."

And with that Jim walked off.

Pike knew how angry he was. He knew how much Jim had taken a liking for his daughter, but he knew Jim couldn't see it. The two were toxic together, not in the sense that the two didn't have good chemistry, in fact their chemistry was fine, the problem was how safe and logical the two could be together.

Christopher Pike only worried how impulsive Arden could get with a man like Jim and wanted to shelter his little girl from it.

Once Pike saw James take a seat, he shut the shuttle door and proceeded to the cockpit. It was filled with more people than usual. The pilot was finishing up his preflight procedures and a medic was doing work on his daughter.

Arden sat still, her face twisted in anger. Christopher walked past her and ruffled the top of her head.

"How bad is it?" Christopher asked.

He glanced past the medic in an attempt to see the burn that was being tending to from under Arden's civilian clothes. Arden shot her father a look. She hated the way he had reacted once she had left the Doctor's room and how he overreacted once he saw the mark.

The medic who was checking her burns, turned over to her father who had taken a seat.

"All I can say is that whoever took a look at this, knew what they were doing."

Arden had shot her father a look. She told him so. She tried to explain the moment he saw the burns that she had gotten it taken care of by a doctor, whose name she had forgotten, but nope, her word wasn't good enough.

Christopher thanked the medic and he left the cockpit leaving the two family members and the pilot alone. Arden leaned against her seat, refusing to talk him. All he had been doing all day was bug her and asking her questions about the pass code and what had happened the night before. She was at her breaking point.

"When are we going to talk about this?" he asked

"Never."

"Arden, you need to help me understand. I'm only here to help."

She yelled in frustration.

"And I told you, I don't know what happened last night, so stop pestering me about it."

Arden rose from her seat and used the sleeve of her shirt to cover up the second degree burn on her shoulder. She headed to the door, ready to dismiss herself when he father called out for her.

"We aren't finished talking about this nor are we done discussing your punishment for using my pass codes."

"Punish me, see if I care!"

Arden stepped out of the cockpit and walked past the bathrooms till she made it to the compartment were all the Cadets were sitting. It was a sea of red. Cadets all sat in their seat. There were practically zero spots available on the ship, only a few stretched across the masses. She ended up eyeing a seat, near a bunch of people from the bar. She noticed that some of the guys nearby had bandages on their hands and such. She remembered their faces from the bar fight. Still she seized the opportunity and strode over to an African American girl who had an empty seat beside her.

"This seat taken?"

The girl shook her head and Arden planted herself in the seat, automatically strapping herself in. She noticed the looks of some of the people beside her. She guessed as much that word got around about her and her condition. Some people stared and others talked. It was the beat up guys from the bar fight who seemed to take the most interest. They're eyes lingered upon her as they whispered to one another. She made out some of the conversation and tried not to look in their direction as they openly talked to one another.

"That's not the girl we picked up last night is it?" one of them asked

"One that that McCoy started complaining about, nah."

"No man, I'm telling you that's Christopher Pike's daughter she-"

The two would have continued on with their "gossip" if the shuttle was interrupted with argument. Everyone turned their head as they heard a southern rumble come from the direction of the bathrooms.

"Are you people deaf? I don't need a doctor, damnit. I am a doctor."

As soon as Arden caught drift of the person causing the racket, she rolled her eyes. It was the doctor from earlier, she wasn't pleased to see him one bit.

The doctor, the one she couldn't remember his name, was yelling at one of the female flight officers who was demanding he take a seat. Arden noticed the glimmer in the doctor's eyes; he saw people looking but didn't seem to give a damn.

It was obvious the flight officer was done with this guys crap. She stood tall in front of the man and gave him a nasty look.

"You need to get back to your seat."

"I had one, in the bathroom, Darlin', with no windows. I suffer from aviophobia, in case you don't understand big words it mean 'fear of dying in something that flies'!"

"Sir, for your own safety, sit down or else I'll make you sit down! NOW!"

There was silence between the two but he eventually listened to the instruction and dropped down to a seat beside a blonde haired boy. Arden nearly glanced away when something stopped her. The boy he had sat next to. He seemed familiar. She thought about it. The blonde hair, the blue eyes, that couldn't have been the farm boy she had met the night before could it?

She licked her lips and stared in awe as the two began to talk to one another. She saw the doctor pull out the flash he had in his room and take down some of the contents before handing it over to the kid.

Arden had an urge to sit there and stare, to confirm her belief that it was the same boy from the night before, but she left a tap on her knee. The girl sitting beside her was trying to catch her attention. She ended up pointing to the guys who had been talking about her before the argument erupted.

"You're Captain Pike's daughter aren't you?"

"What's it to you."

"I told you." He spat to his friend before glancing back over at her. "What the hell happened to you last night? We found you outside the Inn with burns all over you. We took you to that McCoy guy 'cause he's a doctor and all but he refuses to tell us anything."

Arden sighed.

"I'll tell you what I told him. I don't know what happened last night!"

Her blood boiled and she knew she was going to end up like that flight officer if people didn't stop asking the same question. Arden hated thinking about the night before. It made her head hurt. She couldn't put together the flashes she sometimes had, involving that blonde hair and that smile.

She didn't mean to, but she looked right back over at the blond. The boy was still talking to the doctor. She couldn't understand what it was about him. She tried hard, to think about anything she knew about the blond from the bar. The word Womanizer was the first thing that popped in her head but it was soon fallowed with "fun."

Something about that word seemed right.

During all her thinking she didn't notice the guys who were talking about her earlier also shift their glance to the boy. Something in their weird minds seemed to put A and B together.

"So it was him!" Arden looked back. The man was furious. "Damnit I knew that kid was trouble from the moment he was messing with you Uhura."

He was talking to the African American girl. Uhura rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Just drop it. Do you want Captain Pike on your ass again?" Uhura spoke shallowly.

The guy didn't care for warnings.

"But this is different, this is his daughter we could-"

"Well you're a bit late when it comes to that cupcake." The man took the nickname a bit too seriously and reddened in his face. He clenched his hand in a fist and she recognized him as the man who was last seen beating the farm boy senseless at the bar. "My dad already knows and unless you want to get on his bad side, and let me tell you his bad side ain't pretty, I would suggest not mentioning it to him because he is already pissed off, as am I."

She watched as "cupcake" leaned his back in his seat anger steaming out of his head.

She didn't bother talking to them the entire flight back to California. Arden only waited eagerly to get back to her state and return to normality as she knew it. She doubted anyone was happier than she was about being in San Francisco. Even before she left the shuttle with the others she could smell the ocean. Three months away from the city was more than she agreed for. She practically leaped off to soak in the sun and catch the breeze.

Arden wasn't the first to get her bags she waited longer than she would have liked but she knew her things were mostly likely in the end if the pile considering she had been one of the first people on board the vessel. She didn't pay attention to who came and went. When there was room, she dug for her bags. She found her duffle fairly easily and tried to throw it over her shoulder. As she whipped it around she felt the bag make a hard impact and then fall to the ground.

"Shit, sorry about that." She stated once she realized that she practically threw her bag at someone. She glanced up from her duffle on the floor and was hit with two blue eyes. It was the farm boy. He was taller than she remembered and didn't smile as much, but still it was him.

He blinked a few times and leaned down grabbing the bag for her.

"Hey, thanks." She couldn't help but smile. She wondered if she should say something about the night before but convinced herself that that was probably not the smartest idea. She couldn't help it however she had to ask something at least to clear the confusion from her head.

"You're that farm boy from the bar right?"

She mentally cursed at herself. Of course that was the guy she had talked to at the bar.

The blond licked his lips and opened his mouth slightly. Before he could utter a word she heard her father calling her name. He was walking out of the shuttle and seemed to grab a glance at her as he did. The blonds' head snapped toward her father and he quickly shoved the duffle bag at her and turned back to his companion who she could make out as being the doctor.

The man, who had been yelling at the flight officer earlier on the flight, gave her a look. She guessed as much that he hadn't forgiven her for the pen incident.

They all heard Christopher's call once again. Arden zipped around and indicated to her father that she needed another minute to retrieve her things. Sure she was still mad at him but hell, he was her father and she had to love him no matter what. She ended up stepping aside the two boys in an attempt to find her last bag.

The two were a good distance away from her but not far enough so that she couldn't hear what they were saying. She didn't bother looking at him as the doctor's southern accent slipped through his mouth.

"I know what you're thinkin' kid, and believe me she ain't worth it"

"Why do you say that?"

"She's one of the _psychotic_ ones. Some of the guys found her pretty fucked up last night and brought her to my room. She had a burn on her arm and concussion. I spent hours trying to fix her up and you know how she repays me, she tries to stick a damn pen in my throat. Now tell me that ain't psychotic."

She sighed loudly. Clearly he wasn't going to let that incident go. Her temper was really on the edge today and she wasn't just going to sit there as this "doctor" talked about her in front of her face.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips.

"You do know I can hear every word you guys are saying right?" she called.

They both turned but it was the dark haired man who seemed to react out of the two. He was angry and he was going to get a lot angrier soon.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to talk about someone you should probably wait till they leave, don't you think darlin'?" she mocked, giving the doctor a needed glare.

She would have sat there all day gloating in the reaction she received from the doctor if it weren't for her father practically yelling like a mad man. Arden eventually smile and grabbed her last bag.

"See you later farm boy,"

She flashed the blond a wink and began walking over to her father. She wouldn't have thought they would have learned not to talk about her again, but nope, they stated as soon as she left except. It was the doctor who stated again as they stared at her.

"You know what I would like to know, what the hell did you do to her?"

"Why does everyone assume I did something to her?" The blond yelled.

There was a pause.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror kid?"

"There's nothing wrong with the way I look." The blond sounded offended at the statement.

She couldn't help but giggle. There's another pause.

"I just can't believe she doesn't remember last night."

She didn't realize she turned her head around until her eyes caught his. She could see him sigh in her direction and shrug.

"I guess it's better that way."

* * *

_AN: I suppose I am content with this chapter. Sorry for making it so long but I felt like there was no other way to do the chapter without including everything. So I'm leaving for German tomorrow so I won't have stuff out for a while. I'm going to work really hard tonight on getting a new chapter up before I leave. I will be gone for a week or so but I will continue to write during this duration so I can start posting more once I get back. Again thanks for the support and leave a review J_


	5. Kobayashi Maru Exam

_A/N: Sorry for not updating in a really long time. Germany was awesome and i was there during the Munich film festival but i didnt get to see any movies :( People keep on saying they like longer chapters so this one is pretty long. Next chapter i am going to dive in more with Arden's family situation. this chapter is introducing two more main character. Not my greatest chapter but believe me the next one will be better. Also I think I need a beta, so it anyone is interested let me know_

* * *

Arden bounced restlessly on the balls of her toes as she leapt from one step to the other. She tried to reach the seventh floor of one of the Academy's main buildings before it was too late. Reaching the end of the last step she bolted left to the open door. A large reception desk sat before the corridor of offices that sat facing the San Francisco Skyline.

The woman at the reception desk glanced up from her computer toward the panting Cadet and her strumming hands halted to a stop. Arden recognized her as the woman always behind the desk every time she decided to come to her father's office.

"Hey, do you know if my dad is still in the office."

Arden's breath was still uneven as she placed her hands on the desk.

The receptionist shuffled slightly and looked down the long corridor. She glanced in the direction of her father's office, which was the last door in the back.

"I haven't seen him leave yet dear."

Arden took a deep breath and launched herself off the desk. She had made it, despite the time she had, she had made it. Her breath had finally settled herself as she tried to head to her father's office. She didn't get far when the receptionist called back at her.

"Are you excited for tonight?"

She wanted to roll her eyes in annoyance and just head straight to her father's office but she was only a foot away from the desk and pretending to not hear the receptionist would have been impossible. Arden ended up turning back.

"What's tonight?"

"The banquet. You're father did mention that you were invited. Must be exciting to know Starfleet recognizes how important you are to their program."

The thought barely slipped into her memory. She could remember a discussion of a banquet, something the Academy did for some of their brightest students every year so they would meet with Commodores, Captains, Commanders and Admirals alike. It had slipped her memory when the event actually was. The invitation was sent out weeks before; it was unbelievable that they expected her to remember such a thing.

"Right," She began slowly. "The banquet. I'm probably not going to go to that." She finished with a chuckle and couldn't help but run her hands through her growing blonde hair.

The receptionist frowned.

"How come?"

"Made other plans" Arden lied with a shrug.

Her feet began to move slowly under her as she took a few steps backwards. The receptionist didn't notice and if she did, she didn't seem to be bothered by it. The woman sighed lightly and glanced back at her computer for a moment or so and then back at her.

"That's a shame. I think your father was going to bring your mother along for tonight."

Arden stopped. Her feet seemed to plant in the floor at the thought of her mother, the woman her father had begged her to call for years now. The one that she refused to contact. What really caught her off guard was to know that she was going to be at the academy physically. She knew the two talked, it was more one sided than anything. Her mother would beg to her father to talk to Arden. It was like that since she was sixteen. Arden knew her father only answered the calls because he had to, not because he had any wish in having a discussion with her.

After a moment or so, she grabbed hold of herself and cleared her throat, as if to act like the news didn't bother her.

"Was he, he never mentioned anything to be about that."

The receptionist frowned momentary before her face light up drastically.

"Look who showed up."

She looked back down at the computer as though she were doing work. When Arden looked around she noticed her father walking down the hall, a blond as his side. Her father's light eyes caught hers immediately but that didn't stop him from talking to the Cadet beside him. It was the Cadet who did most of the talking.

The Cadet didn't seem to notice her at all as he spoke, but she recognized him. He was the second year everyone liked to talk about. Jim Kirk, the farm boy she had met in Iowa over a year earlier. It caught her off guard, the first few times she saw Jim in her father's office. He seemed to come there often, for getting into trouble or just wanting to talk. She even heard her father mention him a few times as though it were his own son.

She didn't know anything about him. For over a year since the shuttle ride to San Francisco, she tried to start a conversation with him, try to understand something that happened over that night but nothing. The most he ever did was stare at her and then simply walk. She got it, she wasn't stupid and she stopped all her efforts in communication. Of course it ended up hurting her, the abandonment she felt but she was used to it, the way people seemed to constantly leave her through her life. No matter how often something like that happened she never got used to it.

Jim and Pike crossed the hall steadily. Arden could see the formal wear her father was draped in and the way he smiled slightly as he listened to the boy who had eventually gotten ahead of him and was now walking backward as he tried to continue the conversation.

By the time the two made it to the receptionist desk the two finally stopped walking. She watched silently as her father shook his head at Jim and placed a secure hand on his shoulder.

"Can you last a week without getting into more trouble Kirk?"

"I'll try." Jim laughs, "Thanks again Pike."

Chris rolls his eyes and finally turns over to Arden.

"Why aren't you dressed kiddo?" he asked.

She sees Jim also shift his attention toward her for a moment as he turns toward the door to leave. He looked, fascination written on his face as he stared at her.

Arden crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. He hated the kiddo nickname and she especially hated the way he father draped an arm over her shoulder and kissed her forehead after he did so.

"It's a long story," Her father chuckled.

The two heard Jim clear his throat as he began to inch toward the doorway.

"So, I'll see you next week then?" Jim piped in, a devilish smile plastered on his lips.

"Stay out of trouble!" Her father called as Jim heading out of the door. They heard his footsteps echo through the stairs as he left.

Pike sighed heavily and took a handoff of his daughters shoulder. From his other hand, he placed a folder onto the receptionist desk. The woman behind the desk looked up the same was she had earlier as though she had been working for a while.

"Can you place these files in the Admiral Howell's mail box for me before the exam tomorrow?"

"Of course Captain."

Pike winked and said his byes to the woman behind the desk as he placed an arm on Arden's back and lead her toward the elevator.

"You know dad, I actually came to your office to talk to you about tomorrow." He raised a brow, "is there any way of getting me out of that simulation?"

This was the reason she had sprinted across campus for. The simulation, the one she had just found out she had to participate in. There was no need to explain the simulation Pike was more informed than she was. He shook his head.

"It's a bit too late to do anything about that hon."

"But I'm not even in the command school, why do I have to participate?"

The elevator dinged open and the two walked in, clicking the ground level bottom. Pike ended up sighing

"It's good practice."

"But this is the Kobayashi Maru exam!"

"And plenty of students who are trying to be science officers also volunteer. It's not that bad, it's only going to last a few minutes." She couldn't help but give him a look as they descended to the ground level. She wasn't happy and she was even unhappier at the next question, "So, what's this long story of yours about not being dressed?"

The elevator made another ding and the two headed toward the quad.

"It's not that long. I just don't want to go."

"But it's a great opportunity to talk to some Commanders you haven't met before as well as other students who are doing exceptionally well in their field."

"I guess." She muttered.

She knew his game all too tell. She knew he was going to eventually try and guilt trip her to attend the event and she didn't want that at all, there was no guessing who would end up there.

There are several moments of silence as the two family members cut across the quad to one of the nearby buildings. She can feel her fingers playing with hem of her academy uniform as they walked.

"I heard you invited mom." She began

"Actually I invited Miranda. Did you want your mother coming?"

A rush of disappointment rained down on her. Something deep down inside of her wished it wasn't Miranda but actually her real mother. She hated her mother, of course, after all the stuff she had done to her once her and her father divorced but knowing Miranda, the step-mom, would be there instead wasn't that settling either.

"I didn't really want her there either."

"She misses you, you know. You should really give her a call"

"She doesn't miss me. It's more like she misses insulting me and making my life hell with that boyfriend of hers."

The two finally stop right outside the building complex they were heading to. She can't look at her father. No matter how much she tried to explain, he never got it, never understood the torture her mother put her through when they divorced when she was six. Even if she did explain over and over again, no one would get it.

She glanced back over at her father, biting her lip.

"I need to go back to my dorm. Have a nice night with Miranda."

She gives her father a hug goodbye and she hears him mutter "I love you," into her hair before she leaves. She knows he loves her but that still won't make him understand.

Early mornings weren't Arden's forte. Mornings typically left her cranky and hating practically everyone. Practice simulations did the same thing, even if it was a simulation for her own field, she hated how everything felt computer generated whenever she did the activities. The combination of the two was what killed her the most. She had to down multiple cups of coffee as soon as she woke up and constantly remind herself that it would only last a couple of minutes and that the simulation couldn't have been that bad.

The coordinators for the Kobayashi Maru exam sent her all the specifics, explaining to her exactly what she had to be aware of for the exam so that the simulation would go smoothly. She studied a bit. It was, after all her first time ever being part of the exam and not being a command major did put her at a disadvantage.

She got around pretty easily and understood the check ins she had to do before the exam began. She was directed to an exam proctor, who assigned cadets to their position for the simulation. She was one of the last people in line when she got there. She could see the exam proctor with a PADD in his hands reading off the position of the Cadets after they stated their name.

It was no time before she had made it to the front. The Commander before her didn't take a glance up from his PADD as she stood in front of him.

"Arden Pike." She spoke confidently.

"Navigation's control." The Commander stated plainly.

She noticed the way his ears twitched slightly as he spoke. The gawking happened unintentionally. They weren't human ears she was staring at; they were too pointed for that. From her xenobio classes she came to two conclusions, he was either Romulan or Vulcan but a Romulan Commander seemed highly unlikely. Vulcan seemed to be the only explanation. She hadn't noticed how long she had been staring at the ears specifically until the Commander finally glanced up from his PADD in curiosity.

She squeaked like a mouse and tried to turn and go to the Bridge that was set up for the simulation. Of course she wasn't shocked when he called for her in the most polite way.

"If I may I ask a personal query of you?"

She stopped and tried to do her best to smile as she responded with a "sure,"

The commander found his was to her, tucking the PADD in his arm.

"You are Captain Pike's daughter are you not?" His head was cocked to the side, his dark eyes lingering with curiosity.

She nodded.

"Yep, that's how people know me around here."

She tried to respond with a chuckle but it came out more of a quack than anything else. The Vulcan Commander didn't seem to notice her reaction.

"I am Commander Spock it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance Miss. Pike. I have heard about the exceptional achievements you have made here at the academy. I was shocked to hear you didn't make it to the banquet last night."

"Really?"

The Commander didn't seem at all aware of the surprise in her voice. He simply nodded his head in conformation.

"Indeed." He gestured her to walk with him as they headed toward the direction of the simulation. He seemed as though he had wanted to discuss something with her the night before and didn't have the opportunity to do so. "Have you yet, considered your course selection for next year?"

It took her a moment to process what he was asking.

"That's a bit far away from now don't you think?"

"Perhaps Cadet, you are correct."

"Was there a certain class you think I should take Commander?"

"Affirmative," What looked like a smile spread across his face, "I teach an advanced programming course here at the academy. Word has it you would be a great addition."

"Really? I've only taken a few computer classes at the academy and it was focused mostly on weaponry."

Commander Spock seemed to be already aware of this fact.

"Yes, Commander Quinto did mention this."

"Commander Quinto? He was the one that suggested the class?"

This took her off guard. She liked Commander Quinto, she had him several times during her time in the Academy but she didn't expect him to really like her or think anything special of her but she supposed she could have been wrong about that.

"I didn't realize he thought my computer skills were that great."

"In fact he did."

It really did surprise her. She didn't want to commit anything now. Computer work wasn't her specialty anyway even if she did find the whole concept exciting.

"Well, I suppose I'll consider it Commander Spock."

She noticed the way he smiled down at her once they made it to the "bridge". The whole place was crowded with Cadets of all statures. Most of them were in the command school, but her father was right, from the looks of it, there seemed to be other students from other departments, some from the engineering, science and medical schools.

Arden and Commander Spock exchange a short, "Nice talking to you" speech and he left her with the rest of the cadets who are in preparation for the simulation. All seemed to be at their station as she watched from the corner of the bridge. She could see from her angel that the Cadet in charge of the Helm was already seated.

The Cadet who the simulation was for, sat in the Commanders chair. Short blond hair tussled onto of his head, his cheeks were flushed red and his eyes shined with fear. Arden strode from the back of the Bridge toward the captains chain. The kid looked young and nervous and couldn't help but feel bad for him. She stopped at the side of the commander's chair and placed a hand on the kids shoulder.

The boys head shot in her direction as she smiled down on him.

"You're going to do fine kid, don't worry." She reassured him with a squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm Arden Pike by the way. I will be your Navigator today."

"Chekov, Pavel Andreievich Ma'am."

He took her hand for a shake.

"You're one they call the Russian wiz kid right?" Chekov nodded his head in a very child like fashion as Arden chuckled lightly. "We're in the same grade. I've heard a lot about you and how you're an amazing Navigator."

She could see the way Chekov's face lit up slowly from the comment. He thanked her as though it were the first time someone had ever given him praise on his work. In fact she wouldn't be surprised if it were.

Arden eventually took her seat after a short moment of conversation. She did find him a bit cute, in a child like way. He seemed a bit young for Starfleet with his red face and sun bleached curls but people started at all different ages there so being young wasn't that much of a shock.

When she seated herself in the Navigations consul Arden tried to set up the station the best she could remember from her reading the night before. She heard Chekov's sweet voice behind her as one of the test proctors seemed to have a word with him.

Arden swung her seat around toward the man beside her in the helm's station; her eyes were still pressed on the kid in the Commanders chair however.

"That Chekov kid is adorable don't you think." She asked, leaning a bit toward the Helmsmen.

The Helms looked over his shoulder at Chekov and ended up shrugging turning back to his stations.

"Looks like a nervous wreck if you ask me." He mumbled.

She shrugged too. Maybe it was just her who happened to think that way. As she went back to her station she noticed the Helmsmen glanced over at her for a moment or so. She couldn't make out the expression he was making but he eventually turned back to his own space with his arms crossed over his chest.

"My god, who was the idiot that placed the crazy girl as Navigator?"

It took her a moment to realize the mumbling from the Helmsmen was direction on her. She swung her chair around, her mouth agape in shock. It didn't click instantly who it was at first. It was mostly the smooth skin and parted hair that caught her off guard. It defiantly took her a moment to connect the man back to the Doctor she had met over a year ago in Iowa.

Arden sighed heavily and flung her hair over her shoulder pretending to not be as shocked as she was.

"Why am I even shocked by that comment? I should have known it would be the hillbilly."

"I ain't no hillbilly darlin'." He corrected over his southern drawl.

"Pardon my mistake I didn't think you wanted people referring you as a wet dog, but I guess now that you've got that stuff off your face you're just a hound."

He opened his mouth to make another comment but the overhead speakers went off, drowning out the Doctors voice to mumbles.

Everyone on the bridge stopped and looked over at the deck that overlooked the complex. There they could see a Commander talking down at them all.

"The Kobayashi Maru exam will commence in a matter of moments. Cadet Chekov, you mission is to lead the _U.S.S. Yorktown_ to rescue the _Kobayashi Maru_. You're success in this mission will be determined how well you complete the task. Are you ready to take your post Captain Chekov?" they all heard him utter an 'Aye Sir' "The simulation will begin in 3…2…"

The view screens lit to life and the lights of the simulation room dimmed as thought it were really the bridge of a starship.

The first to take their role was the communications officer. She spun around her stations a hand on her ear piece.

"Captain, we're receiving a distress signal from the _U.S.S Kobayashi Maru_. Would you like me to Hull them?"

The nervousness that was one written all over Chekov's face was gone, he was relaxed and in control. He indicated to the communications officer to accept the hull. The audio blared through the bridge.

"Mayday, Mayday, this is the starship _Kobayashi Maru_. We've lost power and we're losing air fast. Can you help us?"

"Where is your starship located _Kobayashi_?" asked Chekov

"We are stuck in sector ten."

"That's the neutral zone sir." Arden couldn't help but pipe in.

She looked over her shoulder at her captain who already seemed to be aware of this fact. Of course he was, he was after all a Navigations officer but the comment seemed appropriate for the simulation.

Chekov's eyes fell on the doctor beside her.

"Helms," he called, "scan the sector and tell me what you get."

The doctor frowned, pressing his lips tightly together. He seemed to know as much about his station as she did. It didn't take him long to shake his head.

"Nothing sir. It seems as though the zone is clear."

"Navigator Pike, may you please plot a course through the neutral zone to the _Kobayashi Maru_?"

"Aye Captain."

She was positive she knew how to do this at least. She ran her fingers though the controls and managed to plot the course when she heard the southern accent pipe in beside her.

"Two Klingon vessels have just entered the Neutral Zone …scratch that five. They're firing upon us Sir."

"Put shields at 60% and then the rest to the screens."

They were working to try and supply the demands of their Captain but it took no time at all for the sparks to fly.

The Helms counsel burst into smoke before them and the helmsmen held his hands up in shock. He was not expecting that. What was he supposed to do, play dead, go to another station? From the look on his face he had no idea either.

"The screens are dead" he croaked and swatted the air in front of him so he wouldn't choking on the black smoke rising from his station.

Arden couldn't help but laugh. "nice going there _darlin'_"

"You know what hon, I'll _give_ you something nice to think about."

"Is that a challenge pup?"

No one else seemed to care about their bickering; they were all too focused on their own stations, if the helms station could set ablaze, what else could the simulation possibly do? No one wanted to find out. Chekov yelled commands to other stations before directing his attention back at her.

"Navigator, get the screens up on your end."

"I'll try."

She sat there stunned. She hated her father for not getting her out of this. She really hated him for this. Arden couldn't help but look up at the doctor who had retreated to her side away from the smoke that still rose.

"Do you have any idea how to get it on my end?" she questioned

He smirked.

"It ain't my job isn't exactly to help you darlin'."

She crused loudly and turned back to Chekov.

"Sir, I have no idea how to do that." She confessed.

She could tell from the way Chekov got up from his seat urgently that he wasn't mad at her for not knowing. He was after all the real Navigator here and she was just a Science Officer. Arden slipped out of the seat and Chekov ran his hand over the controls quickly. It looked like the most natural thing for him to do. It didn't take any time at all for the controls to be switched to her side.

It didn't look good however. Chekov cursed in Russian. Something in the readings didn't look right. Even she could see this from where she was. The shields were almost completely down and most of the weapons had been disposed off. Chekov stood, his eyes falling on the rest of the crew. He seemed strained about what he was about to say.

"Activate all the torpedoes we have on board put them on standby. Also prep the emergency pods for immediate departure. I want everyone to head to a pod for evacuation. Navigator, I will plot a course straight toward the enemy warbirds, you and the rest of the crew, just get out of here."

"Oh great, the kid's going to Kamikaze this thing isn't he." The doctor seemed more annoyed than concerned.

No one on board the shuttle seemed to know what the hell they were supposed to do. It took a moment or so for everyone to evacuate before their heard the noise of the starship exploding in the simulation. She was sure the point of the exercise wasn't to blow up your own ship.

As soon as Chekov got out and the ship exploded, the room they had evacuated in echoed with announcements.

"Attention to all crew members of the U.S.S _Yorktown_, your scenario review will begin in the auditorium down the hall. We will discuss what _all_ crew members could have done in this situation. Thank you."

The announcement cut off and everyone seemed to go back to their normal selves. No one engaged in conversation. They all went to the small auditorium which looked more like a lecture hall than anything else and spaced themselves out throughout the room. She chose to sit in the back. She could make out Chekov's messy blond curls near the middle. A commander was already standing patiently in the front for everyone to finally finish walking in.

"Are you here Chekov" the commander called.

"Yes Sir!"

"It would be easier to talk to you son, if I could actually see you. Mind standing up for us."

Chekov listened and the conversation began. Arden slid down on her seat staring. All the commander did was yell and tell Chekov off about his approach and how he didn't do anything right during the simulation. They even played the entire thing back and of course they had captured her during her argument with the doctor.

During the middle of the recording she noticed a body slip into the seat beside her. She didn't even have to look to know who it was.

"Watching this video got me thinkin' darlin', we really got off on the wrong foot all those years ago. How about truce?"

Arden noticed the way his long fingers slid one of the two cups of water in his hands toward her. He had nice hands, it really was fit for a doctor but she quickly erased the thought from her memory as she eyed the contents of the drink.

"How do I know if you didn't do anything to this?"

"If you don't believe me I'll take that one then and you can have mine."

She watched as he switched the cups. He brought her cup to his lips and took a sip out of it while giving her a smile.

She fallowed what he had done but the water never reached her lips. The contents of the glass slipped through well hidden holes and tricked down her shirt. The smirk on the Doctors face widened slowly as realization down on her exactly what had happened.

"I told you I would give you something nice to think about hon." He purred against her ear, as he placed his own glass down on the table. In anger she snatched the glass he once had in his hands and dumped the full glass of water on top of his head.

Now she was the one smiling and the water flattened his slicked hair and dripped from his head to his lashes.

"There, you are literally a wet dog again." She pinched his cheeks and sent him a mocking look. He stood from his seat, steam rushing through his ears and face reddening. Neither remembered how they were in the middle of a lecture. The Commander in the front stopped scolding Chekov and the others and glanced over at the two both covered in water.

"McCoy, there a reason you're covered in water?"

His eyes automatically met Arden's. The commander sighed, "Miss Pike?"

"He did it to me first sir. I only thought it was invitation to do it to him."

The crew all glanced over at the two. The Commander wasn't pleased one bit.

"Well the both of you are getting demerits for disrupting my decision."

"But-"

"Sit down Dr. McCoy."

He listened and shot her a glare that could kill. Yep, totally worth it.


	6. Lady and the Tramp

Totally worth it. The thought still strummed through her head as Arden pulled her jeans to her hips. It had seemed to be a good idea at the time, getting revenge, but thinking about it now, having to serve a demerit because of it, wasn't as sweet as she initially thought.

Arden stood in her dorm, trying to find the right clothes to wear in her situation. The email she had received several nights before concerning her demerit specifically stated not to wear her Cadet Reds, since they would be impractically for the assignment she and Doctor McCoy had to undergo. She chose something simple. A loose t-shirt, jeans and knee high boots.

Walking past Arden was her roommate Christine. She had stepped out of the bathroom a white towel wrapped around her slim body and had her straight blonde hair pinned to the top of her head in a messy bun. She caught her reflection in the mirror Arden was dazed in and stopped. She was tired from her long shift in the hospital but still managed to crack a smile.

"Arden, stop looking at yourself you look hot." Called Christine

"Well thank you for the comment but that wasn't the intent."

Christine took a seat on her bed, crossing one long leg over the other. She noticed the way Arden stared at her like she always did, envy smeared against her light eyes. Showing off wasn't Arden's intent however. If she had to face Doctor McCoy today she might as well feel pretty doing it.

"Are you planning on meeting a boy?"

"Unfortunately." Arden muttered.

A squeak came from the bed behind her and next thing she knew, Christine was at her side. She used one of her steady hands to push aside a strand of Arden's hair and rested her hand on her shoulder, slightly pressing some of her weight on her. She was looking at Arden only through her reflection, giving her a smile.

"Come on honey, why unfortunately? It's about time you tried to go out with someone. So you and David broke up, but that was over two years ago. You need to let it go and see other people."

Arden brushed Christine off of her and strode to her side of the room to grab a few things before she had to leave.

" It's not what you think Christine. It's not a date, hell you would probably have to use a hypo on me to ever go on a date with that bastard."

"Okay, but then why are you going to hang out with him?"

"We're not handing out!" Arden yelled throwing her hand in the air, "I have to serve my stupid demerit because of him remember!"

Arden had told her about it, about the way she had gotten into trouble the day she had to participate in the Kobayashi Maru exam. The event didn't need much detail. She explained how the Helmsman was getting on her last nerve and that she poured a glass of water onto his head.  
When she told her the first time, Christine buckled in laughter. The story was too good to be true.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. That sounds horrible hon. Who did you say you had to serve it with again?"

"This sonofabitch named McCoy."

She wasn't sure she mentioned it last time but if she did Christine didn't react that way. She was in such shock that the towel around her almost slipped. She quickly grabbed hold of it, her moth hung open.

"McCoy? You mean Len?"

Arden snorted, "Len?"

"Leonard McCoy," It didn't process very quickly but when it did Arden cursed in realization "He's one of the best surgeons we have around here. He's stubborn for sure, but… sweet."

Arden made a face. The thought of McCoy being sweet was completely foreign to her.

"Yeah, I don't think we're talking about the same person. The guy that I know he's literally like a wet dog and all he says is "darlin'". He's a southern freak, I'll tell you that much."

"That is defiantly Len honey," It was her worst nightmare. She could only wonder what Christine saw in him. It wasn't until Christine gasped did she looked back at her roommate. "Wait a minute, were you the girl that tried stabbing him once?"

"Is he _still_ obsessed with that story?"

It looked like Christmas. Christine was giggling as madly as she had when she had first told her the story. She grabbed the dresser near her and started to wipe tears from her eyes. She gasped for breath and finally managed to talk

"I'm pretty sure Len hates you, like even more than he hates Jocelyn"

"Well the feeling is mutually believe me."

By the time Arden made to the quad, where her demerit was to be served, she noticed Leonard standing grumpily next to a Commodore. Even from several paces out she saw the way he rolled his eyes as she strutted over. He was as happy to see her as she was about seeing him.

She admit, he looked good, for a dog that is. He couldn't look much worse than the first time they met, but the new look suited him. It actually looked as though he gave a shit about the way he looked. His hair didn't look dirty and even though his jeans were worn and torn, he still looked like he put minimal effort into what he had to wear today.

When she got close enough to the Doctor, she wiggled her brows in his direction. Leonard snorted, untwining his arms. He leaned in toward the blonde who had just taken a place next to him and whispered something into her ear so that the Commodore nearby wouldn't hear his comment.

"For a second there I thought that daddy of yours got you out of this shit."

"Were you stricken with disappointment when you thought you wouldn't get to see this _beautiful_ face of mine?"

"It's hardly beautiful darlin'." He purred in her ear before chuckling as he pulled away from her.

Arden's jaw set. On the tip of her tongue she could feel a comeback come to her but before she managed to put her silver tongue in action the Commodore cleared her throat.

She introduced herself as Amy McKenna, she was short and angry and didn't seemed to be happy that she had to babysit the two of them. She had a hand on her hip as she spoke to them

"I'm assuming you both know why you're here," they nodded "The administration gave you guys something simple to do. You're both going to dig."

Arden and Leonard glanced at one another to make sure what they both heard was correct. Leonard was so shocked she though his brows were going to jump off of his face. Commodore McKenna didn't bother pausing at their expressions.

" There's a broken pipe line here in the quad. I need you guys to dig 25 feet under to reach the pipe."

There's silence.

"Why can't you guys do it?" Arden piped in.

A heavy sign exasperated from the Commodore's lips.

"It's cheaper this way," she began "well grab your shovels, we aren't leaving until you both finish."

Arden blinked a few times in shock. She would have guessed that she would have stayed there for longer if she didn't hear Leonard mumble things under his breath and bump into her as he walked in the direction where two shovels sat. She sighed. Totally not worth it.

She fallowed behind Leonard. He had already taken hold of his shovel and held on to the other as an offering. After the other day, she didn't trust a single thing that he offered her. She eyed him a moment and to see if he was going to try and pull anything on her again, but ended up snatching the shovel anyway.

"Brat," He muttered.

The two eventually went to digging where the Commodore instructed them to. They were being childish, they knew it but their pride meant more to them than a stupid demerit. Instead of working together the two Cadets dug their own holes not too far from each other. There was only about a foot of dirt between the two.

Commodore McKenna found a bench nearby and took a seat, she had a magazine with her and barley paid attention to the two. Arden made sure to get revenge and annoy the old man the best she could. Every now and then she would fling a bunch of dirt from her own hole to Leonard's, sometimes she would miss and accidently hit him instead. Now that was worth it. Leonard would just mutter insults, throwing some of the dirt back at her in frustration. The behavior must have gone on for at least an hour before he finally exploded.

"Damnit, will you stop that." He yelled, throwing the shovel out of his hands to the grass.

"Stop what?"

"That." He indicated when she dumped some dirt back in his hole.

She hummed for a moment, pretending to think about it but ended up shaking her head anyway.

"Um, nope I don't think I will."

She scooped up some more dirt and threw it at his feet. Leonard made a face and snatched the shovel off the ground. He looked like he was going to do something, something he probably should do but the look from Commodore McKenna stopped him in his tracks

"The task is to work together you two, unless that is, you both want to spend all day here," yelled McKenna.

The two working together was impractical. There was no way either was willing to work with the other. Arden wanted to have as little contact with the Doctor as she could. He was rude for one thing and she defiantly didn't need more drama in her life.

Arden ended up chewing her cheek as she went back to work on her own hole. The more the two dug in silence the more it dawned on her that it was going to take longer than she would have liked to reach the distance they needed.

She couldn't help it. Curiosity caught her nerve and she glanced at Leonard's station as she wiped the sweat from her head. He wasn't trying at this point. His shovel head was stuck firmly into the ground as he stared at her.

"If we work together, we can probably finish this a lot quicker and get on with our lives."

He had a point. She knew it but something in her couldn't allow her to admit it. She shot her eyes to her feet and pretended like she was doing the work on her own station.

"Too bad I don't want to work with someone like you." she called.

"My god woman, will you listen to yourself, " he barked and took a step onto the dirt that divided their two holes. She tried to keep working but he took hold of the shovel and pried it out of her hands. "If we finish this thing quickly we don't have to see each other again! Isn't that enough incentive to sick it up and stop acting like an infant?"

"Maybe I like annoying you."

It was probably a male thing, the way he tried to understand what was exactly doing though a woman's head. She only made the comment to annoy him; it wasn't as though she wanted to spend more of her valuable time with him anyway.

Leonard, at a loss of words flung his hands in the air.

"I give up, you are insane, you know that?"

"Is that a diagnosis?"

"like hell it is!"

"I didn't know dogs could do that."

"Damnit woman, I doctor not a dog-"

"Could have fooled me _Len_."

Arden could see his blood boil. She watched him bit his lip hard and pinch the bride of his nose. He was breathing deeply, his eyes shut tightly.

" How in hell, did those parents of yours put up with you? You're annoying!"

He took his hand off of his nose and stared at her in frustration.

She was stunned as the words processed over and over in her head. Things she didn't want to be reminded of, things like her parents' divorce started to replay in her mind. Her father would tell her the divorce wasn't her fault but she always thought of it as a lie. She always saw that their divorce was because she was too much for either one of them to handle

Arden bit her tongue and took the shovel out of his hands and continued to work silently.

Leonard's comment triggered everything. The thoughts that centered on how everything was her fault as to why her family abandoned her, started to run through her mind. Nothing would sooth the thoughts that she was annoying and that everyone secretly hated her. She didn't think it was just her Mom, Dad, that hated her no it was people like her teachers at the Academy, David…Jim. Jim especially, that was one that hurt her the most.

She hated thinking about it but damnit she couldn't stop. She made it to the point of holding back tears as she dug. She whimpered lightly and hoped to god Leonard didn't hear the cry escape her lips.

But that wish was too good to be true.

"Arden,"

It was the first time he had ever called her by her name, and with the added effect of his southern drawl the way he spoke her name was like honey.

"Look, I don't normally say stuff like this but I'm sorry. I was frustrated and sometimes I just-"

"But you're right. I'm annoying, that's why everyone hates me!"

Leonard stood a few feet away from her. It was the first time she saw him genuinely not angry or grumpy or anything on those lines. He simply stood quietly trying to assess how to approach her.

"No one likes to be around me. Even my own mother kicked me out of the house because I became too much of a burden for her and her new boyfriend."

Arden combed her hair back and bit down on her lip as she looked at the sky. The tears were ready to fall and damnit she didn't want Leonard McCoy seeing her cry about something she thought she had gotten over years ago.

"You're parents divorced," it seemed to come as a shock to him. She guessed it was shocking, it was after all Christopher Pike, the man that had so much recognition at Starfleet and it always did catch people off guard when they found out but something in Leonard look was different than the others, "When did that end up happening?"

"When I was six. We lived in Sacramento my dad only came home on the weekends when he wasn't off planet. My mom just got tired of it, met another guy and ended up filing for a divorce. She got custody of me and dad left without even a goodbye. He kissed me on the forehead and acted like it was another day at work. He never bothered trying to call me on my birthday or anything!"

She didn't realize how angry she was at her dad before. She had never mentioned the story to anyone but it felt too good to get the stuff of her chest.

"For ten years my mom stays with the ass. I got blamed for everything that happened to go wrong. My 16th was the last straw with her. She kicked me out I took a bus all the way down to San Francisco. I didn't know anything about my dad at all other than the fact that he worked in Starfleet. Somehow I managed to find his office and talk to him. He told me he remarried; to a woman named Miranda, and that they had a whole life together. I don't know why he took me in but he did…why the hell am I even telling you this? It's not as though you care."

"Now I never said that hon."

She shook her head and let her blonde curls smack against her face. She dug and dug and slowly noticed Leonard cross the ground and stand on the other side of where she was digging. He didn't bother asking to help her; he just took his shovel and started digging. She didn't bitch about it.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, if that ain't too much?" Arden grunted and he took it as a yes. "How-how did your father take the divorce?"

"How did he take it?" she repeated, " I guess all he did was try and distract himself. I heard he ended up just working a lot to get his mind off of it."

She watched Leonard nod his head slowly. His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"He's a lucky, he could have ended up as some good for nothing drunk who hated his life."

He ended up chuckling at the comment but Arden didn't find any humor in his voice. In fact he seemed more pained than anything else. The two finally locked eyes and the look on his face told her everything she had been wondering since their conversation began.

"You had a family didn't you?"

"Yeah. My wife Jocelyn left me for a guy she used to date in high school. That was a over two years ago. She took everything from me, my house, my car, and especially my daughter Joanna. She was six too when it happened. Hell, I lost everything to that woman. Jocelyn practically took the whole damn planet and left me with nothing but my bones and nowhere to go but up."

He wasn't as complicated as she had thought. He was just like her, hurt alone, all because of a divorce. Of course the situations were different. He was the one actually going through the process of losing a lover and a daughter but it was still similar.  
They way he mentioned Joanna made it seem as though he didn't get to talk to her as much as he would have liked. A thought popped in her head. Maybe Leonard wasn't someone she should have hated; maybe they were both lonely people who happened to be looking for something to ease the emptiness in their hearts.

"Did you join Starfleet, because you had nowhere else to go?" He nodded, "the academy, it is like that for a lot of people. You know how you were hanging out with that one blond kid when we first met?"

He didn't take a moment to even think about him. "Jim? Yeah I know the kid. The brat's my roommate."

"Well the first time I met Jim Kirk, he asked me why I joined Starfleet. I never actually told him, but it was because of that. I had n where else to go. My mom didn't want me around, my step mom didn't like the idea that a girl she never knew about showed up one day on her doorstep claiming to be her husband's daughter. I didn't belong anywhere. So as soon as I finished a few years in college, I applied here in the Academy and got in."

"At least everythin' turned out well for you in the end."

She couldn't help but nod even if Leonard's grunting implied he wasn't feeling the same way. She wasn't going to lie, nothing was perfect between her and her father. She wasn't happy that he left her but at least he welcomed her back in his life. She did feel betrayed sometimes when she thought out about what happened but reminding herself that he did love her made all the difference.

Leonard and her were at different places in their life. He was still fresh out of a marriage that had to last at least 6 years. It was hard getting over something like that. She could see that it had taken a toll on him but he did look better than he had almost a year and a half ago. She didn't exactly like Leonard but damnit, she felt bad.

She understood the pain he was going through and it made her feel even worse when Christine's words echoed through her head. _Len hates you, like even more than he hates Jocelyn._ It sunk it. Damn, he really hated her. She couldn't figure out why she cared as much as she did but being hated more than the woman that ruin his life did seem a bit harsh in her mind.

Arden frowned and sighed heavily.

"Darlin', grumpy ain't your look. Leave that expression for the old men." She cracked a smile as she noticed he was directing the comment to himself.

"What's wrong now?"

"You hate me more than Jocelyn don't you?"

Leonard blinked several time, as though the name Jocelyn seemed to linger in his thoughts for a moment or so. It wasn't often that the name came from other people. Typically it was him that ever uttered Jocelyn's name. When the shock wore off he gave Arden a stern look.

"Now who in hell told you that?"

"My roommate Christine Chapel"

He rolled his eyes and didn't know what to do with himself. He stood in the dirt more frustrated than he had been all day.

"Let's establish a few things darlin'. One, Nurse Chapel has a big mouth. I've been around penalty of nurses and believe me Chapel likes to gossip more than I've seen any woman gossip about anythin'. Two, You weren't the one that took my daughter from me. So I ain't going to hate you more than that bitch, at least not _that_ much. I will tell you what you are however. You're annoying but then so is my roommate and that ain't necessarily a bad thing hon. It keeps thinks intrestin'."

She didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult at first but eventually decided to settle for it being a compliment. It seemed as though this were the nicest way he would ever be able to "compliment" her and she took it happily with a smile. At least it was something that took the edge off of her thoughts.

"Thanks cowboy."

"For?"

"Just shut up and keep digging." She pestered and she swore she thought she saw a smile on his face as he listened.

* * *

_A/N: sooo I dont know if you guys still like this story or not. I didnt get any reviews last chapter and sadly i feel like i am losing interest in this story as well (I really want to write a McKirk AU). So if i dont get any reviews on this chapter I am probably going to abandon this or something and focus on other lines of work. Again thinks for viewing my story_


	7. Don't fuck on my bed

_A/N: This is one of my longer ones. Warning there is sex in this one, so i changed the rating to M. Enjoy_

* * *

"Bones, tell me we have something to eat."

Jim was slouched over his chair, his head rested against the table in front of him.

Bones walked into the kitchen unit, jeans hugged his hips and his exposed chest tightened from the lack of heat in the room. He had a towel dragged over his shoulder, small water droplets dripping from the ends of his dark hair to either the towel or his chest. Bones nursed his neck and let his feet smack against the hard floor as he headed over to the cabinets where they kept all the dry food.

"Weren't you eatin' when I jumped in the shower?" he called over his shoulder.

He pulled out a box of cereal and placed it on the table. Jim yanked his head up and groaned, placing his hands over his aching tummy.

"But Bonsey, I feel like I've been eating nothing but mac n' cheese for days now. I think I'm going to die from starvation!"

"If you don't stop your complainin' kid, a hypo is the next thing you'll be seeing."

Jim quickly shut his mouth. Bones watched him for a moment to see if he were to pull anything but eventually turned his back on his roommate and went for the milk. He processed to fill up a bowl with the two contents. Bones refused to sit as he ate the only thing he could find for dinner.

"This is Jo's favorite brand." Jim watched Bones wave his spoon at him as he continued to chew. His lips churned inward as he went on talking about his daughter. "She told me about it a while back."

His accent always got more prominent whenever Joanna was mentioned.

"I know Bones, that's the whole reason we bought those in the first place?"

He hated the cereal. He was all into sugary breakfast meals but the cereal had too much of a fruity tinge in. The taste was just as bad as the veggies Bones tried to make him eat. He was starving however, and he took hold of the box, and nibbled at the contents inside.

Bones made not notice to the expression on Jim's face as he took a bite. In fact he hadn't even paid attention to the fact that he had his hands inside the box to begin with. He was on his own little world, looking down at his bowl and staring at it as though it were telling him his future.

"Maybe you're right"

Jim hummed an agreement and leaned back. The two front legs of the chair rose in the air and he was pulling a balancing act. Leonard once again raised his spoon in the air in an attempt to mention something.

"She's also trying to grow out that hair of hers. Last time I saw her, she had two fat pig tails on either side of her head and a missing tooth in the front of her mouth. God, she can be so adorable don't you think?"

"She is."

There wasn't even a pause between the two statements before he raised his spoon again and Jim was betting he was going to mention Joanna once more.

"Look Bones, not offence. I love it whenever you bring up Joanna. You get this cute look on his face and its adorable compared to that grumpy one you always wear but seriously man all I've heard come out of your mouth today has been Joanna this and Joanna that. I would rather have you yell at me than hear any comment about her."

The reality check hit him hard.

"Sorry, I didn't really notice."

He began to munch on his dinner silently for a few moments. Even Jim managed to stay quiet for a while before the taste of the cereal became too much for him. Looking over at his roommate Jim saw he was in a daze, thinking very intently about something.

"Out of all the time's you've spent with Captain Pike, did he ever mention he got remarried?"

"I didn't even know he had a divorce."

It was true. He and Chris never talked about his personal life. Occasionally Pike would tell him about some mistakes he made when he was younger but the topic of family was never mentioned. He guessed it was only because he wanted to avoid any conflict. He still couldn't talk to Arden and he did admit Pike rarely brought up his daughter in conversation. He thanked him for that. He didn't need a constant reminder that she was off limits.

Bones nodded his head gingerly.

"So Pike never mentioned anything about him leaving her then?"

"Leaving who?"

Bones stopped and gave him a look.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the girl you constantly obsess with, you know, the one you refuse to talk to! That one that happens to be Pike's daughter."

Jim pressed his lips together.

"We don't really talk about his family life."

Bones muttered an "oh" and went back to his food. The thought seemed to still bug him, maybe it was the divorce. He knew how sensitive Bones was after his failed marriage. Jim however couldn't get the thought out of his head. How did Bones even find out about the divorce it wasn't as though he spent much of his free time with the Captain.

"How did you find out?" Jim asked

"Arden told me yesterday. We had a "heart-to-heart" about family and all that bullshit. It was nice I guess. We spent most of the day talking about Jo and classes... She's ain't that bad. Annoying for sure but she's more tolerable than you will ever be."

A shot of pain ripple though his body. It felt like his best friend had just punched him in the jut. Betrayal swirled in his blood. It wasn't fair that Bones was able to talk to her and he wasn't.

"That's cool." Jim sighed

"I guess. If I remember correctly she mentioned you at one point."

The fall from the chair to the floor was a long one. His back stringed and his head started to kill him but none of that mattered. She knew he existed. He wasn't too shocked about that considering the amount of times she attempted to talk to him since that shuttle ride.

"What did she say?" he asked eagerly.

"Not much. Nothing that indicated she remembered anything from that night."

Bones was the only one he told about that night other than Captain Pike. When he first mention it and explained why he was ignoring her, all Bones managed to say was, "You're so god damn irresponsible Jim." He deserved it, and he knew it.

Getting so caught up in his thoughts Jim didn't notice the look he was giving his friend.

"Kid, take that look off your face." Bones begged

"What look?"

"The pathetic one that you're making!"

Jim barely listened as he picked himself off the floor along with the chair that had nearly broken from the impact. Bone's sighed deeply and placed his empty bowl n the counter top. He strode across the kitchen unit and placed a firm arm on his roommates shoulder.

"I know it's bugging you and I think I have an idea. Let's go to the bar, you can forget all about her there."

Moment's like these Jim really love the fact Bones was his roommate.

* * *

Did he say love? No, it was moments like these where he hated Bone's and his stupid ideas to make him happy.

It didn't take ten minutes before he saw the blondes. The taller one, introduced herself as Christine. She was one of Leonard class mates from the Medical School and dragging her roommate to come with her. If he had any idea Arden would have been there before hand he would have decided to skip out on the bar this one time. The whole point of coming there was to forget about her not let her rub it in.

Even if Jim tried he couldn't stop himself from looking at her, even though he wanted to give Bones a very pissed off look. The two blonde roommates looked as though they had come to the bar to mingle. They each wore short skirt and pumps. Christine showed more of her breasts with the shirt she was wearing. Still, even though Arden was glancing over her shoulder, to avoid eye contact he couldn't help but have urges to talk to her and have her in his arms again.

Christine excused herself and left Arden to talk to Bones. He could only hear a few things they were saying to one another over the pounding music. He could hear her call him cowboy several times and get a darlin' snared back at her. Arden had her free hand rested on his arm and spoke in his ear so she would have to yell. Bones made a few annoyed face and responded back.

Was that flirting he saw? He wasn't sure but it looked like it. She would giggle occasionally and at one point punched Bones on the arm playfully. His expression only made her smile with delight. What the hell was even going on between the two?

"I'm going to check out the juke box," Jim finally managed to hear clearly over the ramble of the music. Bones nodded his head and she left. It had taken him a moment to realize Jim was standing beside them the whole time.

"Say something damnit!"

"I hate you." Jim growled.

Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Stop being overly dramatic Jim, we were just talking."

"Well some of us can't talk to her remember?" He took a swish out of his beer and really hoped the night would soon.

Even though he couldn't hear Bones sigh beside him he knew he was doing it.

" Damnit Jim, it ain't going to kill you to talk to her. You've broken plenty of rules before, this ain't different."

He did have a point. He wasn't one for listening to the rule, that's why he was in Pike's office at least once a week. He appreciated Pike's help in getting him out of some situations but something felt wrong about going behind his back.

She was beautiful though and smart and damnit, it was so tempting to say fuck it and talk to her. The temptation, he could taste it in his mouth, or perhaps it was the beer, either way he craved it. It was only a talk, her father wouldn't find out about it, not unless she told him but he was sure she could keep a secret.

"Okay, okay fine Bones you win."

Bones shot him a smile and pressed a hand on his back, nudging him in the direction Arden walked off to. He had this. He totally had this. This wasn't the first time they had talked. Their first conversation went well, well enough that she snuck out with him, this couldn't have been much different.

When Jim made it to the juke box, Arden had his hips pressed against the machine. Her ass stuck out a bit and the back of her shirt rode up as she did so. None of the music caught her attention.

"You should play AC/DC." Jim whisper into her ear. He felt her jump and turn around, her eyes twitching a bit as she stuttered his name.

It felt amazing to hear the way her voice spoke his name. Not many girls managed to make him grin that way when they talked. He knew he made her nervous as he let his hips brush up against hers as he leaned past her and pressed the button for the AC/DC song he had suggested.

The music didn't come out right away but the two stayed glue together. His eyes glanced over her pretty face down to her breasts and then to her drink.

"Looks like you need someone to refill that for you."

She looked down and seemed to realize her glass was empty.

"I can do it myself."

She squirmed underneath his body and managed to slip away. There was no doubt in his mind weather of not he should follow her. It was like déjà vu all over again. Even the way her hair whipped as she turned around to look at him furiously, seemed familiar.

"Maybe no one ever told you this but following someone is-"

"Harassment? Yeah you told me last time."

Arden blinked, caught completely off guard.

"So why are you doing it again?" She asked as the bar tender handed her another shot.

Jim shrugged and took a daring step in front of her. "I've been an ass and I thought this city girl would want an apology." He brought his face to hers and before he could get any closer she chugged her drink down in one motion.

"You don't know anything about me Kirk. If you did, you would know that I don't want your apology."

"That's the thing, I do know you." His hands tightened around the band of her skirt and he fiddled with it as he spoke, "I know you're incredibly smart and that you want to do research on combat and weaponry in other alien species. I know you used to use your fathers security code for your own benefit before he changed it. I also know your parents got a divorce when you were younger. I know you Arden, and I know you want an apology."

Even her eyes indicated she wanted his attention. It wasn't the attention that some girls had when they were eager to sleep with him. It was clear she wanted him to talk to her again the same way he wanted to be able to talk to her.

She bit down on her lips and looked over her shoulder, maybe to find someone like Bones to help her and get her out of the situation.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. It's my fault you got shot on the arm with a phaser and that you can't remember anything from that night. I hate myself for putting you in danger like that. I really don't know how to make it up to you. But I know that ever since that night I can't get you out of my head. And shit, if I could go back in time I wouldn't have- "

"What happened." She calmly spoke.

He hadn't noticed he was out of breath until he bombarded her with everything from that night. Of course he didn't tell her about her father and the threat he made on him but he told her everything he could remember. She wasn't speaking but that didn't matter, because she was at least listening and that was good enough for him.

He would have probably talked forever if she hadn't slid her hand up his chest to the collar of his shirt.

"Farm boy, shut up for a second."

He listened and Arden took staggering footsteps back and fell into the seat that was behind her. Her eyes became shallow and blank it looked like she was slipping into shock.

He took the seat beside her and his hand trailed to her bare leg. Fingers formed small soothing circles on her skin.

"You're mad at me."

"I don't know what to think," she spoke a bit harsh, "you stopped talking to me for two years and now all of a sudden you're come out with all this shit."

"I know and damnit I'm sorry. I was told I couldn't talk to you. All I want to do now is start over."

"I can't ignore what happened Jim. You're going to abandon me again. I just know it."

"No I won't." He slid across his seat and caught either end of her face in his hands. He made her look at her even though she struggled to look away. "Even if your dad and the rest of Starfleet try to stop me, I'm not going to leave you." Her lips quivered at the statements. He was serious, he hurt her more than he thought and all he could think of was to make it better. He brought his lips to her and gave her a reassuring first kiss , "That's a promise, I swear to you."

For Jim the night was full of firsts. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a girl back to his room so calmly. The girls he managed to womanize at the bar always tended to be the type who giggle uncontrollably like a teenager, if they weren't that type they were usually the kind of girl that would be ripping his clothes off even before they got into the room. With Arden it was different. He wasn't talking her back for a good fuck, she was the first girl he ever want to just savor his company with.

Judging from the way she held tightly onto his hand, Jim guessed that was the way she thought or it could have just been the fact that she was too drunk to hold herself up straight without a helping hand. However, he brushed off the second option and punched in the doors code, leading her inside.

The room was the same way he and Bones had left it. His side of the room was dirty and clothes sat on the floor near the bed. Bones' side was neat. The only thing making space was his textbooks which rested on his deck. Jim watched the way Arden's eyes darted from end to end of the complex, her eyes not knowing where to exactly focus on for too long.

Jim leaned over and brushed her long blonde hair out of her face.

"Make yourself at home."

He lifted her hand up high enough so he could place a gentle kiss on the back of it and give her a reassuring look that it was alright to let go. She got the picture once he began to untwine their laced finger and placed a hand on the small of her back to give her a push toward the rest of the room.

The situation wasn't awkward but it was… strange. Of course she was adjusting slowly. They were still getting conferrable with one another. It was different than that night on the Enterprise.

Arden eventually inched toward the bed. Jim made note that it was Bones' bed that she had taken a liking to. When she took a seat she bounced a bit, as though she were trying to determine if the bed were good enough for something like a pillow fight. He couldn't say for sure whether or not they were good for pillow fights but he knew for sure what the bed was really good for.

"Having fun over there?"

"Yes I am." She giggled, "The bed in my room isn't nearly as bouncy as this."

Jim crossed the room with the stupid grin across his face. He had a whole collection of music piled up in the room, some new, some old.

"Why kind of music do you want me to play?"

Jim, glanced over his shoulder to find Arden lying on her back. She was staring at the ceiling, and used one arm to cushion her head. He didn't realize the way he licked his lips in hunger as he looked at the blonde. The skirt she had worn bunched up, revealing her legs. From his angel he could make out the scarlet panties she had on.

Arden hummed and bit her lip as she thought.

"Do you have any soft rock or blues? I'm tired of that crap they play at the bar."

"I'm sure I could find something." He called back at her.

Blues wasn't his type of music. He had no problem with it but it wasn't the type of thing he listened to. When Jim started looking through the music again he went through Leonard's stuff. Bones didn't have as much music as Jim did but he had brought some of his favorite stuff back from Georgia and Jim swore he heard Bones hum a few blues tunes occasionally.

Jim grabbed some of the unfamiliar music and blasted the stereo. Guitar preached around the room alongside drums. Jim turned back around. Arden was lifeless on the bed except for her feet which were desperately trying to kick off the black pumps that were still on her.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"You alright sweetie?" he asked.

She whined a bit and finally managed to kick off her shoe and wiggled her toes in the process.

"The room's spinning." She began as he strode over to her on the bed. He didn't do much thinking and momentarily forgot it was Leonard's bed he decided to rest on. Jim pressed his back down the way Arden had. He rested his head against hers and looked at the ceiling as though he were trying to figure out what she found so interesting about it.

There was no doubt they were more fucked up than they thought. Jim felt lightheaded and lost the grasp of time as the two lied quietly listening to the music. They would have been sitting there for seconds, even minutes, just doing nothing, but he liked it. He liked the way he didn't have to say anything to her to feel happy or feel as though the things between them were prefect.

Jim didn't know how long it had been until Arden shifted to face him. He didn't know why, but he took her lead and did the same only to find her hand on his face, outlining his lips gently. He couldn't figure out if that was normal or not. He had never really been with any girl. He wasn't the Romantic type and tend to skip all the foreplay and just go straight for the sex. But he liked it and he liked the way she looked at him as she did it. She wanted to kiss him as much as had wanted to kiss her too. He knew it, it was all over her face.

"You are so drunk." He laughed

"Like you aren't?"

Arden sat up, her eyes still glued against his skin. Jim cracked a smile and felt his hand creep between her skin and the shirt she wore.

"I'm drunk but not nearly as much as you are."

He rubbed gentle circles again the small of her back, his hands inching higher and higher with every movement he made. He did notice her sway slightly. She wasn't lying about the room spinning. The bed creaked under the weight of their bodies. Arden shifted closer to Jim and placed a firm hand on his chest. Her hair hung down and made it so that the only thing he could see when he looked up was her face and her face alone.

"Well," she began, purposely letting her tongue rub against her lip as she emphasized the word, "For your information Captain Smarty pants, I'm not _that_ drunk."

She pushed Jim into the bed and managed to pull herself to her flat feet. Propping himself up using his elbows he watched the way she staged over her pumps and caught herself. She shot him a look as though he needed to pretend he didn't see that but he couldn't. Jim pulled himself up and he grasped firmly against her hips. He pulled her in-between his legs and didn't give her any wiggle room to leave.

Now this was something he was familiar with. Even if it was so wrong, he liked having girls in that position so he could take dominance. He couldn't care less what his actions were, the alcohol was taking control and all he wanted was her.

"Sweetheart, you are so fucked up."

"That's not true, I can still make logical decisions."

"Oh really, what are some of your logical decision then?"

Arden placed a knee in between his legs and her back arched as he made skin to skin contact. It was what he was craving. He needed the feeling of their skin pressing together along with the eager look in her eyes. He didn't think he would be able to sleep tonight if he didn't get it.

"Come on sweetie, enlighten me,"

"I know it would be stupid to kiss you right now."

"Is that really stopping you?"

There's a pause, and she smiles.

"I don't know, you tell me."

The kiss doesn't come as a surprise. Her soft persuading lips, against his own, felt as though what they were doing was right. He managed to allow his eyes to close, once he got her to straddle his lap.

Her lips were warm and soft, and their lips moved eagerly. The kiss started out tender, sweet in a sense. It didn't feel as though it were an innuendo for anything more. It was only a display of love between two friends. Arden brought a hand to his cheek to deepen the kiss. It wasn't what he was used to but it felt right. He didn't have an urge to rush anything until she started to play dirty.

She eventually she started lip biting. He could feel the restlessness in his pants building up as she did the gesture.

Nothing stopped them from kissing like hormone crazed teenagers.

Arden's hands entangle in his hair and she moaned into his lips. She sat comfortably in his lap, and grinded herself against him. Her body ached for his movements as his hands trailed from her hips to her shirt and then to her breasts. Jim cupped them through the thin material for a short while before the clothes became too much for him to handle any longer.

They only broke the kiss when he slipped off her shirt. He had enough experience with taking off clothes to not have a hard time getting her bra off as well. She groaned as his lips moved to her neck and nipped at the tender flesh exposed to him.

"Jesus Christ Jim," he heard her gasp "I guess the farm animals weren't the only things you were fucking over the years."

"Fuck you too." He mumbled against her neck.

Her body ached and his back arched in response. Her hands slipped down to the collar of his shirt and she tugged. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she wanted. He slipped his shirt off in one motion and grabbed hold of her ass. Jim flipped her onto the bed. Her hair tussled around in a mess yet she still looked beautiful in his eyes.

Jim kissed her again. Their bodies were hot against one another. Instinct took control of Jim's body. It didn't matter who was on the bed with him, if it were Arden or some random just he had just been on the street. Jim knew what he wanted and nothing in his brain told him otherwise.

The kisses between the two shifted. Jim's lips found her breasts and he sucked at her aroused nipple. His hands found her groin. The heat radiating from her sex only furthered his own arousal. The touches provoked on her body, made Arden restless. She tried to wiggle under Jim as his fingers brushed gently against her clit.

She liked the feeling of someone touching her body, it had been too long since someone touched her down there and the gentle touches of his fingers shot jitters through her body.

When Jim finished sucking her nipple he pressed his lips together and their two blue eyes met one another.

"You're going to have to stop wiggle for me alright sweetie."

Arden squeaked in reply as Jim pressed a finger into her. Her body clenched as it anticipated the way he slipped another finger into her. From all his other experiences, he knew what he was doing and her body reacted the way he wanted it to, the way he expected. Her muscles clenched against his fingers as he found a rhythm.

Arden tried watching the panting blond on top of her until she lost him in between her legs. His tongue went over her most sensitive spots. This wasn't something he did offered many, only the special ones got the special treatment and Arden was defiantly special.

Almost instantly her head fell back. She moaned to the ceiling, her hands gripping the bedding as she did so.

Jim could only smile as he continued his handy work, working his tongue in circles and his fingers in and out of her. Her hands managed to find his hair. Her fingers laced against his smooth locks.

"Jim," she panted.

Her whine only encouraged his movement and made his hard-on press against his pants even more than before.

"Jim," she begged this time.

From under her he could hear her breath picking up speed and he knew she was going to come to her climax soon. Arden muttered a few curse words under her breath and the grip on his head became more prominent.

"Damnit Kirk listen to me-" Her voice caught off by her bodies own desperate way of reliving its self from all its building tension. She gave off a scream, her thighs quivering, as a wave of pleasure rushed out of her.

Jim's face suddenly popped out from between her legs and he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth.

"Was _that_ what you wanted me to listen to?" he panted with a cheeky smile. She too had to regain her breath. Her body lay limp on the bed.

"I had a question," She finally managed to state over her breaths.

"A question?" He repeated, "I'm eating you out and the only thing on your mind is a question?" The bed pressed under Arden and Jim was right back on top of her, his hips positioned precisely in perfect position between her legs. "You're strange, you know that."

"Thanks."

Jim pressed his lips against hers quickly, "What's this question of your, and if it's about Bones, you don't have to worry, I took care of it."

She rolled her eyes.

"I just want to know who told you not the talk to me."

Jim became rigid. He knew the question would eventually pop up but there, while they were having sex? The thought made his spine shutter. Jim reached his arm out and combed her hair out of her face before placing a kiss on her forehead.

" Let's talking about this when I'm not trying to banging our brains out, deal?"

She chuckled.

"Deal," with that their two lips met again for another desperate kiss.

* * *

"We were so drunk."

"Yeah," Jim muttered. He turned onto his stomach, his bare ass exposed to the world as he did so. He wanted to suffocate himself in the pillow. His head was pounding heavily from every sound made in the room. He didn't plan for the sex, even if they fucked each other into oblivion.

What was done was done. Arden propped herself onto her elbow and used the tip of her finger to outline his spine. She didn't feel the same way. She could feel herself falling for him and didn't in any way want to lose Jim again.

"You were quite good at this." She whispered continuing to let her hand run, "Or maybe it only felt so good because I haven't don't it in a while."

Jim's grunt was muffled from the pillow. He turned his head to the side, so his face was exposed to hers Arden watched his lips preach apart as he sighed. His eye poked open and he looked at her.

"I'm going with the first option."

"Of course you would." She chuckled, "we'll I'm going to make breakfast."

Jim felt her hand smack him across his ass as she shifted her weight to the end of the bed. Eyes lingered on her bare back. Arden stood and walked toward the kitchen unit, picking up her discarded clothes when she happened to walk past. She could slip into her clothes and purposely left her panties on the edge of the bed for him to keep.

She had a nice body. It was ordinary, not like some of the others he has slept with who had hour glass figures. She had certain assets that went for her like her ass and breasts and he admit he sort of liked the way her thighs brushed together periodically as she walked across the room.

Jim took her lead and found his boxers. They clung tightly against his thighs as he slipped it on.

He walked to the kitchen unit and pulled out the only thing he knew they had, cereal, the one Leonard always kept in stock.

"About that deal of ours," she began, "Who told you not to talk to me?

There was silence.

"It was your dad."

She had lost one of her friends because of her own father. She couldn't comprehend what was happening or how to even begin to apologize for her father's actions but before she could do anything the two Cadets heard the doors slide open and the sounds of, "Damnit Jim," echo through the dorm.

Jim automatically glanced over at the undid bed that had clear signs of sex written all over it. Bones walked in and stared at the two from the end of his bed. To Jim he looked as distress as he did when they first met on the shuttle.

"What the actual hell kid," He screamed. Sure he yelled a lot and got all bitchy about things but this was a new extreme even for him. The two Cadets in the kitchen stood like deer in headlights.

Bones through his arm back in the direction of the bed.

"I don't care if you sleep with people, but not on my bed you idiot!"

"Look Bones, I'll clean it up."

"You know what kid, shut up!"

Arden knew all too well what was going to happen once Leonard's eyes found her. She knew he was going to blame her for this shit, even though she had no idea with was Leonard's bed they had spent the entire night in.

"And you," He pointed his finger at her, "get out." He motioned it to the door which was beside him.

"Bones," Jim whined, "don't be so rude, she didn't know."

"It's alright Jim." Arden placed a hand on his shoulder. "I need to go anyway." She propped herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek gently. He had almost forgotten how soft her lips really were until then. "I'll take care of things with my dad, you don't have to avoid me anymore."

His hands caught the tip of her hair as Arden gathered her shoes and was escorted out. The rooms door shut with force and Bones reappeared.

"Do you know much a pain in the ass you are?"

"I think I'm getting the picture."

* * *

_A/N: I didnt expect to get so many responses on the last chapter. I had no idea people even read this but OMG I'm not going to stop. So the ending at leas to me felt a bit rushed but hey, Arden and Jim slept together and I hope the ArdenJim fans were happy about this and that they are talking again. If you guys didnt notice this is the first time i have written "smut" so feedback on that would be helpful to say the least. I will try to post another chapter in 2-3 days._


	8. Chronicles of a divorced Doctor

Leonard McCoy pinched the bridge of his nose. The small staffroom of the hospital was cooler than most days. This was one of many things that annoyed him. Sure, there were good days in Starfleet Academy, but this wasn't one of them. The energy in the hospital felt drained and even some of the happiest nurses seemed to be cold and out of laughter.

He sat by himself in the staffroom, nursing a cup of coffee under his hands. It was supposed to be his lunch break, a point in his day where he didn't have to think about work or school or anything. His only focus should have been on eating and relaxing but that seemed nearly impossible to do. He couldn't find a way to eat anything and sat quietly looking over his patients files. Nothing was out of the ordinary, there were cases of anxiety, and high blood pressure, yet the day didn't feel right.

Leonard sighed deeply and rubbed his face with both hands. He could hear the clicking of heels slowly approaching from across the hallway. The clanking of the shoes entered the staff room and he looked up.

Christine Chapel gave him a small nod and went straight for the freshly brewed coffee he had just made. Her eyes were swollen with exhaustion and even under her makeup he could see the bags under her eyes. She was hiding how exhausted she was feeling and didn't bother to do anything nice with her hair, like she normally did.

She poured herself a cup as a sigh escaped her lips.

"Rough day?" he called

"More like a rough week."

Christine turned from the counter with the cup in her hands. She tried to smile but it ended up looking as though she were putting in too much of an effort to do so.

"We all get one of those," he reassured her for a smile.

"I know, it must be bad for you doctors, but things have been a bit chaotic back in the dorms and my neck has been bothering me all day"

With Christine's free hand she reached for the back of her neck, at an attempt to relieve the tension she was feeling. He could tell such movement wasn't going to do anything for her. He couldn't help but give her a small smile. She was in fact one of his favorite nurses. Even if there were things about her that annoyed him he generally tried to help her out when he could.

"Come on take a seat,"

Leonard gestured his finger for her to come over in his direction. Her brows frowned slightly but she never once complained as he slipped out of his chair and held it out for her. She took the seat like he had instructed and he pushed her toward table.

"You nurses don't nearly get the amount of respect you deserve around here."

Leonard placed his hands on her shoulders and applied pressure where he saw that had bothered her the most. The neck rub didn't mean much between them. It wasn't very strange for one of them to help the other in such a way. He could recall an event that happened a month earlier in which she ended up doing the same thing for him. They needed to lookout for each other.

Leonard felt Christine's shoulder blades shift under his hands. She moaned slightly as her muscles started to lose tension.

"So that's what those legendary hands of your feel like." she chuckled

"Are those the rumors about me?"

"Not only,"

"_No only_" he heard himself repeat with sarcasm, "Well if I want to know about any of those other rumors, I know exactly who to ask."

Christine snorted under him.

"Well don't look at me. I am strictly confidentiality."

She made a motion as though she were zipping her lips shut. He openly rolled his eyes, knowing Christine would see exactly how he felt about her comment. He pressed a little harder on her shoulder and leaned in giving her his usual "I'm done with your shit" sort of look.

"Sure, strictly confidential, more like confidential my ass." He muttered.

"Is that how you swoon all the girls Dr. McCoy?"

"Like you wouldn't believe, Nurse Chapel."

Silence rolled around the staffroom. It was common behaviors, the teasing that went on between the two of them.

Neither spoke for a while until he finished with her neck. When he was done, he slipped into the seat beside her and the two sipped quietly on their coffee, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere the staffroom gave off.

No matter how Leonard looked at it though, she looked sick. It wasn't just the way her eye looked as though they were forcing themselves to stay up but her skin and lips looked pale. Maybe she was sick with someone, but highly doubt it since Chapel was known for taking care of herself better than anyone there at the hospital.

He guessed it was from lack of sleep, she did after all mention problems back in the dorms and sleep tended to be a popular topic of discussing when it came to roommates.

"How've you been sleeping?" he asked

Christine glanced up from her coffee and gave him a small shrug.

"I haven't gotten much sleep. Arden is all over the place and even hyposprays aren't doing much."

He should have guessed it had something to do with Arden. He hadn't seen her for at least three weeks, not since that morning since he found out about her and Jim. It was easy to recall exactly how he felt when he had pieced together what had happened on his bed. The bed that had sex written all over it made him remember the time he had first caught his wife sleeping with Clay. His anger was just a projection of those memories.

Christine looked troubled even after he placed his hand on top of hers for support.

"I just—I don't know, I'm worried for her. She's getting extremely intense about things. She thinks she in love with Jim and doesn't even realize that he's been avoiding her for weeks. Don't even get me started on the way she is having panic attacks over the fact that she hasn't even told her dad about her and him. She keeps on repeating to herself that "If I tell my dad about us he's just going to—"

"Leave her?"

It wasn't too much of a guess, he had figured out she had an abandonment issue after their first "heart-to-heart" conversation but he didn't think it was as extreme as it really was.

"How did you know she said that?"

"It's because it's obvious and she has a clear medical problem. Christine, I know its not your responsibility to do this, but you should advise her to see someone medically."

"She had a physician here, we can always get—"

"I don't think you understand. She needs to see herself a shrink."

Nurse chapel blinked, processing what was coming out of his mouth. She was too close to the situation at hand. She was too blinded by emotion to see that she was only listing symptoms to a bigger problem. Sure sometimes people feel alone but this was something constant. A physician would do little to help her. What she really needed was a physiologist or a psychiatrist to look over her.

With the knowledge he knew from disorder, if he was correct she was in more danger being alone than anything else.

"I don't know Arden that well, I can't diagnosis her but from what I do know is that she has a severe abandonment issue. This could be a symptom to a bigger issue like a borderline personality disorder or she could just been suffering from an abandonment problem that has been building up over the course of years. Either way, there is a high probability that she could be clinically depressed."

Christine rolled her eyes. "She's not depressed Leonard, she's just over emotional"

"That's why I'm not diagnosing her with anything, plus I'm not even her doctor so my word doesn't mean much."

"But if you were her doctor you could diagnosis her if you wanted?"

It was a weird question to ask. He shrugged in response.

"I suppose I could. I'm certified after all but-"

"If we get permission to make her your patient, can you?" Her voice was desperate and her eyes pleaded with him.

Sure he was certified to do it, but he was the wrong person. If she was after all as bad off as he though, he wouldn't be much help to her but to prescribe some anti-depressants and suggest therapy. Either way, he couldn't bear to do it. He liked Arden, he really did but that's what made trying to be her doctor difficult.

"I ain't suited to be her doctor."

"But you were just saying—"

"Goddamnit woman I'm a surgeon not a physiatrist!"

She sat still, blinking heavily. She wasn't expecting him to yell at her the way he yelled at the others. When she had regained her composure, she snatched her hand from his grasp and peeled herself off her chair.

"Never mind then," She muttered and left the mug of half drunk coffee on the table. She didn't bother to say bye as she left the staffroom. He cursed under his breath and went after Christine at an attempt to fix things. She was across the hall when he had caught up to her.

"I'll do it alright. I just need her medical files first."

A small smile spread across her lips.

"I'll take care of it. Thank you Len."

When Leonard finished his shift at the hospital he was exhausted but nope the option to go back to his dorm wasn't an option. He didn't know how she did it but Christine managed to get all of Arden's files to him. When he should have been dealing with other patients, he was sitting reviewing her Medical history.

Christine Chapel guided Leonard to her dorm room and opened the door for him. The girls' dorms were different than his own. The room was rich with color and felt more cozy than anything else.

First thing he noticed was Arden sprawled on the bed, face planted against the pillow. He wild hair was all over the place and it didn't look as though she had combed out her hair in days. The image of her reminded him of himself two years ago and the strain the divorce had on his appearance.

"Arden, I brought someone over," Christine called

"Can you not," she shouted from the bed.

Arden shifted over, getting up into a sitting position. She looked even more agitated to know it was him standing in her room.

"Leonard wants to talk to you." Christine called to her roommate. She then leaned toward him and said, "I'll leave you alone for a bit."

Leonard was already getting a bad idea about this. He could sense this wasn't going to go as "smoothly" as he planned. Christine gave her roommate at small wave and left the two of them in the room with the tension flying.

He had to admit she did look bad. She was pale and it seemed as though she had lost unnecessary weight since the last time they had met.

"Where did Christine go?"

"She wanted to give us privacy." He called and started to make way to her bed where she still sat. She rolled her eyes and kicked her feet off the bed. She wasn't going to deal with him and he was sure she was going to go in search for Christine.

"Darling; if you don't sit that pretty ass of yours down, you're going to be sorry."

"Really, 'cause I don't think I will."

Before she could make it to the door at an attempt to chase Christine he caught her shoulders and shook her a bit as though to snap some sense into her. Couldn't she see how much of a mess she looked like and what she was doing to herself wasn't normal in any way?

"What the hell are you doing to yourself?"

He didn't want to admit it to Nurse Chapel, but he was worried. She didn't understand the affect she had on people, the affect she had on him particularly. It was one thing to hear about it and another to see it. Seeing her like this, made Leonard only want to pull her into a hug and make all her problems go away. Things didn't work that way, he knew that.

"Christine's worried about you. Even I'm worried about you."

"Get out," she spat.

"Why, are you hoping I'll run to Jim and tell him how bad you're feeling? Are you hoping he'll run to rescuer you after he's been avoiding you after the sex that was weeks ago. Oh and let me guess he's also going to tell you that he want to be in a relationship even though Jim Kirk _doesn't_ do relationships. Oh yes I see now, you're completely delusional. Well I guess I better get out of here, and let Christine know exactly what fuck is wrong with you!"

She looked at him like she wanted to puke. Well someone had to say it. Someone had to break the news down to her about Jim because she defiantly wasn't getting the point. He squeezed her shoulders.

"I'm sorry I had to put it that way. I'll put you back in bed, com one."

Leonard had absolutely no problem getting Arden to turn around. He pushed her softly toward the bed she had just gotten out of and helped her into it.

He felt responsible to help her like he had in that motel. He could have decided to ignore her but she was like a lost puppy in his eye. A puppy, that needed to be helped more than anything else because no one else was going to be there for it.

"No one wants to see you hurt like this Arden."

He found a chair across the room and placed it on her side so they could talk. She hugged her knees to her chest and asked "why". It was a dumb question to ask but he knew he point of view and knew exactly what it was like to be in her situation, wondering why anyone would care what happened to her.

He took the seat on the chair and leaned over, so his elbows pressed against the bedding. She looked so alone and so out of place even on that bed of hers.

"Why? It's because if you end up hurting yourself you're going to hurt the people around you and they're are going to be the ones suffering the most. I know Jim's not acting the most mature at the moment, but he likes you maybe not in the way you would want but he does like you and if something happened to you, it would kill him inside. I don't even think I have to mention your father. Imagine him having to bury his own child. You love your father, and it's clear he loves you even if that voice in your head tells you he doesn't. Now darlin' don't make your daddy go through that. It very likely your father is capable if staying calm in a stressful situation, he is a captain after all, but everyone has a breaking point."

Her blue eyes narrowed. The speech wasn't good enough for her.

"Why do _you_ care?"

The sound of her voice was threatening and full of confusion. Sure he had seen her angry before and annoyed but this was a whole new direction for her. .

Understanding wasn't something he believed she could do, at least not in this state of mind. She was all over the place with her emotions. If only she knew exactly why he cared so much than maybe it wouldn't have been a question she had to ask.

Of course he didn't answer her. It would be too complicated to try and explain to her why he liked her and why he even dared to say he loved her despite their constant nagging.

"Look, self-mutilation and suicide is the worst case scenario. I firmly believe you have you have a high probability of falling into depression and doing something…stupid."

He paused for a few beats and he could see she was shutting down. The way people suddenly shut down when they have constantly heard something repeated to them constantly. If that were the case, than his concerns were more than a reality. She really was a danger to herself.

She was like a child, hell no one seemed to even notice how much internal pain she had been going through all these years. She needed someone to acknowledge her. That was her whole problem.

"Arden," he started seriously, "I've looked through your medical history and some of your incidents as a teenagers do show signs of attention seeking behaviors through mutilation. So as your new physician I have to ask: Have you ever tried to kill yourself before?"

Their eyes lock and her mouth opened for a second and then closed. The pause she made before replying, "No," wasn't that significant but he caught it. A pause to a question like that had clear signs that she was lying about her answer. He pitied her.

"Before you answered, you paused. Was there a reason for that?"

"I was thinking," She responded all too quickly.

Another lie. It was frustrating. No wonder he decided to become a surgeon than a psychiatrist in the first place. Typically patients told him the truth but this; this was getting out of hand. What good was lying to him? It was hurting her more than it was hurting him.

"So you never tried anything in the past between the divorce and being kicked out?"

Her jaw clenched at the statement and he could see she was having a hard time swallowing. He nailed it on the stop. When she had first talked about her mother and her boyfriend she didn't mention anything like that indicated neglect. He had read her medical history and he was certain some of the incidents that had put her in the hospital were to simply get her mother's. He read ridiculous statement like being hit by a car several times, rock climbing accidents, batting cage accidents, things that didn't make sense.

"You can tell me if something happened," He reassured her, "You won't get into trouble if you say yes. I only want to know because I want you to get the right help."

"Well nothing happened so don't worry about it."

"You never tried to hurt yourself ever even here at the academy?"

"Damnit, no!"

Lie after lie after lie. That was the only thing coming out of her mouth. Maybe she didn't trust him enough to tell him or maybe she didn't think what was going on with her was even abnormal.

Leonard studied her the way a scientist would study a lab experiment, trying to understand exactly what the hell was going on. She wasn't giving him anything to work with. She was slowly shutting off again he had to come up with something else and he knew exact what.

"Alright I believe you," he began.

Leonard abandoned the chair and crawled onto to the bed beside her He wasn't going to try and force the truth out of her. He just wanted to show her how approachable he was of the subject.

"Can I tell you a secret." He questioned, pressing his hand flat against the soft bedding.

She didn't respond, she looked at him and the look was more than enough reassurance that she didn't care. It was hard for him. It was the first time he was ever going to tell anyone about it but it felt right to admit it to her. Of course she had no idea how much he cared for her even if he didn't show it all the time.

"In the past five years I've tried to do it three times."

She didn't notice the way her eyes widened slightly at the statement. Who would have thought, that he, one of the most level headed doctors at the academy, would admit to wanting to end his life in more than one occasion?

She didn't answer or even utter a response to the news. She sat, eyes lingering with fascination to hear more.

"The first time, it was right after I caught Jocelyn in bed with Clay. It was my bed, well _our_ bed. I wasn't supposed to be home. Jo was downstairs watching TV, totally oblivious to what was happening upstairs. When I saw them I was just—"

He paused. The memories of his failed marriage and the event of that evening came back to him. The memory was something he was able to forget easily but in recent event he was hard to. When he saw his bed a mess weeks ago he lost it. He didn't want to remember how his own wife betrayed him like that in his own bed. He found it hard to swallow suddenly but managed to continue.

"I tried to drink myself to fatality. I had a full supply of my favorite drink and at the time it seemed poetic to end things that way. To say the least the night didn't turn out the way I planned. Next thing I remember I was in the hospital puking my guts out from alcohol poisoning. The nurses told me I was lucky and they all thought it was an accident. Not a single person there questioned my motives."

Arden nodded gently as though she understood the feeling. He expected as much which was why he chose to include it when he told the story. Maybe in the end he would get through to her. Maybe she would get comfortable enough to try and tell him her own story.

"Thinking about the divorce now, I feel like I over reacted a bit. Sometimes I find myself thinking about it and wonder why that had to happen to me. The second time I tried doing it was when I got the divorce papers. I was in our bathroom shaving and Jocelyn just handed it to me. She didn't even tell me she wanted a divorce. She just handed me the papers and left. That time I didn't do anything, but I was damn close. I had this thought in my head that I should just stick the blade of the razor under my left ear. You know, cut an artery and bleed out right there in that bathroom. Right as I was holding the blade there, staring at myself in that mirror, a thought came to my head. Joanna. Imagine knowing your daddy killing himself like that over a divorce? Imagine how fucked up Jo would be knowin' that. Just because my life felt over didn't mean I had to ruin hers as well."

Joanna was his life and he hated that he wasn't able to spend more time with her. She was his baby girl after all and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

Leonard felt a wave of emotion fall on him suddenly and he ran his hands over his face several times as though he could somehow wipe the memory out of his head for good

"For the longest time I had a fear of shaving because of that. I didn't know what I was going to do, or if I was going to be triggered or—"

He finally glanced over at Arden from across the bed. Her lips pressed tightly together and her hands clenched into fists, making her knuckles white. She looked even more pale, than earlier and the look in her eyes made him worry. Maybe, he was telling her too much. Maybe he shouldn't have gone so into detail, but it was necessary. He wasn't sure if she knew what the affect of her impulsive behaviors could do to the people around her.

"Do you want me to stop?" he whispered

She couldn't move, not even an inch. Damnit, it was too much for her to handle, telling her was his mistake and probably more triggering than anything else.

"I should stop," he said more to himself than anything else but she finally shook her head.

"There's only one more right?"

"It's the worse one." He warned

She looked away and muttered "I don't see how it can get much worse," under her breath. If only she knew. If only she understand exactly how much worse things could get.

Leonard took a breath and found himself staring at his hands as he continued.

"The act its self wasn't _that_ terrible. It was recruitment reason and shit in my life got bad. Being a doctor and all, I didn't have much problem getting prescriptions like sleeping pills. I got the kind that would knock you out in ten minutes flat. I had the whole bottle in one hand and the alcohol in the other and my mind was set. Even Joanna couldn't stop me from doing it this time. I was just about to do it when I get this knock on my door. I'm at a motel at this point and it's about four or five am. There's this thought in my head to just ignore the knocking and take the damn pills already. The knocking stops and then it starts up again more urgently and now I can hear people calling my name. I end up coming to the decision that I will just answer the door and take the pills when I get back, it wouldn't make a difference. I open the door I see these four idiots with blood all over there face as though they had just been in a bar fight. Obviously I start yelling at them because of the god damn time but then I see this one guy. He's balding and he's got something hooked on his shoulder…"

He peaks and eyes out toward the blonde beside him and she's frowning. He wasn't sure if it was because she was bothered by the way he was deciding to go if she were just confused. Both, he came to conclusion. It had to be both.

"That's it?"

"No."

He smiled an unconventional smile because she didn't get it. She didn't see what he was seeing. She didn't understand why this attempt was the worst of them all.

"The guy, he's standing there holding a blonde, with a phaser burn on her shoulder."

There's silence and he can see the tears forming in her eyes. She finally saw what he was talking about. When everything else failed to save him in his latest attempt it was her. It was the night the Cadets had found her in the motel after her night with Jim. She was the reason he didn't close the doors on the guys and swallow the pills like he had planned to do. She saved him when no one else could and she didn't even realize it. She didn't even realize that _that_ was the reason he put up with her despite her flaws it was because she saved him and he loved her for that, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud.

She started rubbing her red eyes in an attempt to make the tears go away. She was trying so hard and failing so badly.

"Darlin' don't start cryin' on me now, or else I'm going to start crying too" he warned and brought one of his hands to her hair to try and calm her down a bit but she choked on her tears. It was like she had leapt across the bed to him and held him tightly as though she were afraid she was going to lose him.

Tears seeped deep down in his shirt and she pressed her head against his chest.

"I-I hate you so much."

"I know you do."

He combed down her hair and let her cry through her short breaths. Even when her breath eventually became even and she slipped into a tied state of sleep he didn't let go. He didn't want to let go or leave. He loved her, it was simple as that.

* * *

A/N: You can review if you want. I feel really bad for writing this chapter in general...


	9. There's no treat like Ice cream

"Damnit woman, didn't we just have a whole goddamn conversation about getting yourself some actual food," yelled Leonard McCoy from the Starfleet Academy Student Center.

Arden Pike motioned toward him, licking her fingers clean from the ice cream that had managed to drip over the rim of her cup and onto her fingers. She wasn't even sorry to say the least as she stopped in front of the table Leonard had occupied for the two of them. Taking the finger she had sucked on out of her mouth she gave the doctor a playful grin.

"I know we talked about it but the ice cream was too tempting. Wanna bite?"

She held out the cup over the table, making sure the vanilla ice cream wouldn't get on his hands if he tried to take it. He didn't take it. No, he was too pissed off at her to even consider unfolding his hand from over his chest and take the contents from her.

Leonard glared and wondered again why he was putting up with her. It didn't take much for the memory to come back to him. The way she gripped him tight and sobbed on his chest, the night before, was still engraved in his memory. He could still remember how the two had woken up that morning still in each other's arms as though none of the world's problems could touch them. He was surprised how relaxed he felt waking up, despite the awkward position he slept in. Spending the night with her was one of the most relaxing things he had managed to do in a while. Usually he woke up with headaches but those were typically Jim's fault.

Waking up with her was different. Things felt right, things felt like they had when he used to fall asleep with Jocelyn in his arms in the first few years of their marriage, back when things used to be good. He didn't want to let her go. They stayed in each other's arms for at least an hour after they woke up, just thinking. He could still remembered the way his fingers felt as he combed back her hair and the way his skin flexed when she touched his chest a certain way.

They could have sat like that for hours, just staring aimlessly at parts of the room, completely lost in thought, thinking about the conversation they had the night before. If Christine hadn't started to blabber her mouth like she had, that's what they would have done.

Yes, he could remember now exactly why he was spending the day with her. He told her, he needed to do a 24 hour evaluation of her, considering he placed her on anti-depressants earlier that morning and wanted to make sure she didn't have an allergic reaction to it. That was only half the truth. He could see what Jim liked about her. Sure, he liked her company for completely different reasons than Jim entirely, but he was spending his day with her because he wanted to, not because he had to.

When Leonard didn't respond to Arden's offer she slipped into the empty seat adjacent to him and smiled taking another mouthful of the creamy dessert.

The smile on her face made him know she was better. Even if she was still pale from lack of nutrients, at least she was smiling again and he couldn't ask for much more.

Leonard unfolded his arms and gave out a well deserved sigh. He placed his elbows on the table and leaned in toward his companion.

"You're not going to eat that until you have an actual meal." He started up again.

"But I already bought it and it would be a waste to just throw it out."

"Well I'll just take it off your hands then."

He reached across the table and she made no effort in trying to stop him. He wasn't a big fan of sweets, he occasionally had chocolate, if he really did have a sugar craving but he was only dealing with the ice cream because he wanted to annoy her.

He liked this part of their relationship, the way they teased each other more than anything else. He liked the way she wasn't afraid to challenge him, to get her way. He found that one of the most interesting things about her, she was never boring. So when Leonard took a spoon full of ice cream and let the substance melt in his mouth he couldn't help but be amused from her expression.

"Don't act like I didn't offer some to you." She whined.

Leonard nodded his head in agreement, "I do appreciate the offer but you weren't supposed to get it in the first place now were you _darlin'_?"

He put extra emphasis on the word darling and watched the way she sat restlessly in her seat. Even with the sorry look in her eyes he didn't give up the sweet. She looked the same way a puppy would have if someone had kicked it. Of course he wasn't going to take it all for himself, who was he to separate a woman with her ice cream?

"Don't give me that look, 'cause it ain't gonna work," Leonard started up once more, "The only girl that's managed to get me with those adorable puppy eyes is Joanna."

She didn't stop. Damn she was good, even with the teasing he couldn't help but give in.

"Well alright, just this once, but don't tell anyone," he warned.

"Would I ever do that _Doctor McCoy_?"

"Yes you would." He spat back without uttering a thought.

Leonard, despite her pleading, didn't hand her back her comfort food. He took a spoon full of the content and held it across the table for her to take another bit. Her hands slide half way across the table before her body followed. Her pink lips wrap around the spoon and for him, time seemed to stop. He was aware reality wasn't literally slowing down but the way her lips seemed to slide slowly off the spoon sure made everything stop in his world.

He could have stared at her lips all day and admire the way she licked them when she talked sometimes but the thought came to his head. He was too old for her and damnit staring at her that way, playing little fantasies in his head only made him feel like some dirty old pervert.

A hum came from the back of Arden's throat and she smiled.

"Sweet."

"Well it is ice cream."

"I wasn't talking about the food," she whispered.

It took a moment for it to process in his head and when it did he stared like a fool. A dumb old perverted fool who was too speechless to even come up with some sort of playful comeback. Even if he wanted to say something he couldn't. His voice was caught in his throat and he had no choice but to clear his throat loudly to finally speak again.

"You should buy a real meal."

"I know but my stomach is just saying, no to everything." Her brows frowned and she looked as though she were in pain or just suffering from a headache after thinking too hard. Her eyes diverted down to her hands and she watched the way her fingers danced together in some sort of tangled waltz. "I'm anxious. I told Jim I would talk to my dad about something and I've been avoiding the conversation for weeks now."

Her voice was weak and he knew exactly what conversation she was referring too. It was the only one that seemed to explain the situation between her a Jim, the fact that he talked to her even after her father had warned him not to do so. He wasn't an expert in the situation, he didn't know all the details about what happened but he didn't see a point in bringing it up to her father. It wasn't as though she and Jim were on talking accounts at the moment anyway.

"If it brings you so much anxiety, then don't have the conversation," he suggested

"But I _need_ to."

"Okay then have the conversation."

"But it's not that simple!" She roared

Leonard rolled his eyes and muttered "women" under his breath. Just when he thought he had unmasked their ways they went and confused him even more than before. Why did all women try and do that in the first place? He didn't even bother trying to figure that out. He was sure if he figured out the woman psyche he would be awarded a Nobel Prize of some sort.

"Look Arden, It shouldn't be that big of a deal. You're only talking to your father after all. Just go to his office and just talk to him like you normally would."

"Can you come with me?"

Normally he would have defined her as being needy but after what she had gone through lately he knew she only needed support. She needed to understand that it was alright to ask people for help when needed but trust was something she had to develop in time and to develop any sort of trust with someone that person had to help her with the little things first before going on to the big things.

There wasn't even a complaint on his end of the conversation. He simply nodded his head and damn, he was even smiling a bit.

"Well luckily for you, we did agree I was going to follow you all day, so yes, if you go, I will come with, simple as that."

Leonard liked the way she smiled. Some people just had that way of smiling that was so sincere. She looked better than she had last night but something in the way she looked seemed familiar. He remembered seeing the look in her eyes as he told his story about the divorce. He had specifically seen that look after he told the last story. She looked at him as though she genuinely appreciated his existence and couldn't possibly express those feelings into words. He had also seen that look in the eyes of his patients after he had saved their lives. It had a different meaning when she did it however. He didn't actually know any of his patients personally but her, she was different and he appreciated her too.

Arden and Leonard, finish the ice cream together despite his constantly jabber about how bad ice cream is for their health. It didn't matter though, they had fun sitting in the middle of the student center talking, talking about anything that came to mind before they left to talk to her father. She made fun of his hair for no particular reason and he managed to make fun of her for something she did unintentionally. It felt normal.

When they finished their treat and walked slowly together toward the offices where her father worked, he could feel the tension between them tighten. Sure they would talk, and poke fun at one another every opportunity they had but the nervousness in her voice was very distinct. Her mind was spinning with different choices and only got worse the closer they got.

By the time Leonard and her, walked past the office secretary she was shaking to her bones.

Arden had her hand in the air, waiting the press the comm that was located right outside her father's office, but no matter how long she held her hand there her fingers refused to press the button. She turned quickly to the doctor beside her in panic. It wasn't too late; she could still get out of there.

"Maybe I shouldn't do this after all. I mean talking to my dad isn't that important. We can get out of here before he ever knows."

Arden tried to take a step past him in the hurry but she didn't get very far before Leonard grabbed her arm.

"Hey, look at me," he had to place his hands on either side of her face to manage to get her to look at him directing in the eye. "You've got this. It's just a conversation with your father. You've had plenty of those before."

She bit her lip in distress.

"I know, I know but If Jim hasn't brought it up to him then it isn't a problem, I think I can go on for a little while without my dad knowing—"

"You're thinking about this too much. I believe in you alright. You've got—"

The door beside them opened with a _swoosh_. There standing in the open door of Christopher Pikes office were two Admirals. Admiral Marcus and Admiral Howell stood by the open door. They seemed to be as shocked to see the two Cadets as they were about seeing them. If either Cadet knew better the position they had been caught in made it look as though they had been caught kissing in the middle of the hallway.

An awkward silence rolled over the hall before Leonard realized his hands were still over Arden's face. He dropped his hands and saw a tiny smile roll onto Marcus' lips as he inclined his head back into the office.

"Chris, looks like you have a beautiful visitor waiting to have a word with you."

"What are you talking about Alex?"

The two Cadets, watched Christopher Pike shift into view from inside his office. His brows declined in confusion.

"Arden, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Leonard noticed the way she licked her lips nervously and gave her father a small wave.

"Hi Daddy, am I—um interrupting your meeting?"

Pike made a short glance over to the Admirals to see for himself if his meeting with them was truly over. Admiral Marcus' smiled toward his Associate.

"Well don't keep the girl waiting on our behalf; you have a fatherly duty to live up to after all."

The way Pike shook his head at his superiors let the two Cadets guess that this sort of teasing was normal between the Admiral and Commander. Arden was aware Marcus too had a daughter around her age and she was sure the others poked fun at him as well for doing his "fatherly duty".

Pike politely thanked the Admirals for their time and the two higher officers left, giving the Cadets the opportunity to walk inside.

Leonard admit, Pike had a perfect view from his office. Directly behind him stood the San Francisco skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge in perfect view from their location. Even the office was nice. His desk was the center piece of the room with two large chairs sitting in front of the desk for visitors. There weren't any picture of personal memorabilia on the desk itself but he could see some awards hanging on the walls and he was sure he noticed a picture of him and Arden together before the divorce split them apart.

Christopher Pike walked to his seat on the other end of the desk and offered the two of them a seat. The seats were the kind that made one sink into. They were too damn comfy for an office like this that was certain.

"Daddy," Arden was first to speak, "this is my friend—"

"Bones isn't it?"

Leonard's eyes widened in shock from the way Pike had known that. It didn't shock him for too long; he should have guessed he would have been a topic of conversation especially when Jim came over.

"Actually it's Leonard," he corrected, offering out a hand, "Leonard McCoy. But you can, um…can call me Bones if you really want to. Only my friends call me that, but I guess Arden doesn't call me that even though we're friends. Well I guess we're friend, I don't really know, but Bones is just fine, I mean, sir."

Pike raised a brow and held back a grin. Leonard cursed, _why is it always so awkward talking to the parents? _Even with dealing with patients he always found it harder to talk to the parents than to the kids. Pike didn't seem to find it strange however; in fact he looked more amused than anything else.

"How about I just stick with Leonard?" Pike suggested

"Sure."

"So, what brings the two of you to my side of campus?"

The question was directed for Arden. The smile that had appeared on her face after his "fuck up" seemed to vanish. She glanced over at her father from the other side of the desk.

"I had to talk to you about something important." She began.

Her father raised a brow and made a short glance over at Leonard to see if he could get some indication about the conversation from him. He didn't get anything good and when he noticed this he found his daughters eyes and leaned back against his chair.

"What's up?"

"Where do I even start," she mumbled half chuckling to herself. She looked at Leonard for support, but he simply shrugged.

"Don't look at me darlin', I'm only here for moral support remember?"

A sigh come from Pike's direction and when Leonard looked over he could see the man stroking his fingers over his face in the place where his facial hair would rest if he had any.

"I think I have a good idea what this is about," spoke Pike slowly, "You got her pregnant didn't you?"

"What-No! I don't even like her like that. We're just friends. Not that your daughter isn't beautiful or anything, I mean she is extremely pretty but no! I didn't even touch her I mean damnit she's too young for me anyway. Oh God no that's disgusting. I mean your daughter, she just a _girl_. Not that girls aren't great, I mean I have a daughter of my own I would know— but damnit I just made myself sound gay didn't i? I'm not. I love women and I love—"

"Will you shut up!" Arden yelled harshly between her teeth.

Her face was flustered by his ranting and god this is why he hated meeting parents.

Leonard had his hand on the bridge of his nose and wished that this whole thing would just go away now and save him from further embarrassment.

"Len," He glanced up, the redness in Arden's complexion was fading, "do you want to step outside?"

"Yeah." He muttered.

She wasn't mad at him. She nodded her head gingerly before he stalked out of the room. The door _swooshed_ again as it open and closed for him. Getting out, he felt as though he could breathe again, like his stupidity and awkwardness were a result of lack of fresh oxygen.

He felt his heart pounding in his chest and did a breathing technique to lower his heart rate. He rested his back against the wall perpendicular to the office room and the walls cool surface, again the nape of his neck, felt good. It only took several moments after he stepped out of the room before he heard yelling. It was the sort of yelling that was muffled. He couldn't hear _what_ was being said but he could determine from the pitch of the voice it was Arden who was doing the yelling, not her father.

He was thankful he got out before then. He closed his eyes and again tried to focus on his breathing. Even breaths, that's all he needed. The conversation must have lasted for at least ten to fifteen minutes. Arden's yelling seemed to decrease the more the conversation went on. He was sure it would be over in a matter of moments that was until he heard it.

"Bones?" Leonard knew that voice anywhere and his eyes snapped open. "Bones! Where the hell have you been? You didn't come back to the room last night or this morning…what are you doing in Captain Pike's office?"

Jim stood in front of him. How the hell, did the kid manage to sneak up on him like that?

Jim Kirk stood a little bit shorter than him, goofy grin on his face. From the way his face looked had actually waiting up for him that night. Maybe he should have given him a comm.

"I had an emergency situation with a patient last night. I couldn't make it back sorry," he explained and Jim didn't question it. It had happened plenty of times before in which he had to stay in the hospital because of a patient. He technically wasn't lying, she was his patient now.

"What are you even doing here kid? Don't tell me your ass got into trouble again?"

Jim laughed.

"I can actually talk to Pike even when I'm not in trouble you know that right?"

"True, but knowing you, there's always something."

Jim rolled those mesmerizing blue eyes of his and gave Bones a look as though he were offended at the comment.

"So what are you doing here again," Jim asked with a smile.

"I had a meeting."

There's a pause and Bones watched as Jim began producing an artificial beeping noise from his mouth. His only conclusion: the kid had finally gone insane.

"Why are you making that noise?"

"Do you hear that Bones? That's my bullshit meter going off. Something tells me that you're a liar."

"And something tells me you need to get that damn thing fixed punk!"

Jim grinned like a child during Christmas and shrugged at the grumpy expression being produced by the man in front of him. He missed his Bones, more than anything, even if it we just a night apart. Taking a careful step past his roommate, Jim Kirk leaned over toward the comm.

He didn't notice the way Bones' eyes widened in realization. Leonard grabbed hold of his friends arm to hold him back.

"Don't press that button kid," he warned

"Why not I _actually_ have a meeting," He slipped out of Leonard's grasp and he pressed down on the button outside of Pike's room where he followed to speak into the device, "Sir, it's Jim, Just letting you know I'm here."

He took his hand off of the device and static buzzed before either male hears Pike's voice from the other side.

"Just the person I needed to see. Come inside James,"

Jim stood there. Now he saw it. He could see there was something wrong. It was only rare Pike ever referred to him as James and when he did it was usually because he was in deep trouble. Leonard could see he was having a hard time swallowing. The door slid open and the first thing either one of them saw was Arden standing there, her hands pressed against the table. When she noticed the others she turned around and pressed off the table.

Leonard sighed and clasped a hand over his friends shoulder.

"I was trying to tell you kid," he tried to explain but before he could do much more Jim had walked to the edge of the room. He fallowed.

"Sir, I can wait outside until you're finished with your daughter."

"Son, you can stop with the game already."

Jim swallowed hard and Pike motioned with his fingers for the two male Cadets to come inside of the room. Leonard didn't takes much fancy to going too deep. He stayed close to the door and chose to keep his mouth shut in case he made another stupid comment.

Jim inched toward the chair and stood straight like an ideal Cadet would. Especially with the uniform clinging on to his body, he looked the part of Starfleet, hell he even fit the look of a Captain, something Leonard knew Jim would be one day.

When Jim stopped, Captain Pike leaned his elbows on his desk his eyes focused on his prodigy.

" Arden made it aware to me that the two of you are on talking terms, even though I specifically told you not to-"

"Daddy!"

Pike paused and he took a deep breath.

"I owe you an apology. You were right, she wasn't happy about what I asked of you. I realize I was wrong about requesting such a demand from you."

"She totally yelled at your ass didn't she-um sir."

Leonard snorted. The kid really needed to learn some manners when talking to adults. Of course Pike didn't do anything; he was too soft in Jim. He was going to take Jim's shit because he cared for him, no matter how stupid he was.

Christopher Pike cleared his throat and looked over at his daughter.

"I would like to believe I taught her how to make a decent argument to say the least."

Arden rolled her eyes. She didn't deny that fact; even if she yelled at him to get her point across she did present a decent argument to get her father to admit he was wrong about doing what he did and apologize to Jim like she wanted.

"So I'm not in trouble then sir?"

"No Cadet you are not."

"That's great!"

It must have been the first time in weeks, Jim's eyes found hers through the room. She remembered the look. He looked at her like that when they first kissed. She knew he didn't like her like she wanted, but the look told otherwise. He did love her, maybe he wasn't in love with her but loving her was just as good.

"I think I should get going. Doctor McCoy and I made plans, right Len?"

"Already, but I just got here."

Everyone in the room could hear the tone in his voice. Disappointment. He wanted her, maybe not to the extent of wanting to take her into bed again but he wanted her around, he wanted her friendship more than anything. That was the whole reason he ever considered spending time with her in the first place.

Leonard sighed, this was just one fucked up mess and everyone knew it.

"We'll see each other around." Arden reassured him and walked over to Leonard, taking grasp of his wrist. The only person who received a bye was her father as she pulled the doctor out of the room. The two Cadets didn't walk very far before Jim came running after them.

"Arden, wait a second!" he pleaded and ran ahead of her, purposely stepping in her way to prevent her from getting away. "I've been such a fuck up with you. I-"

"Don't worry about it. Leonard explained everything last night. You don't like me that way. I get it. No hard feeling right?"

"It is a big deal, I act like a moron in front of you. I should have just told you I didn't want anything serious in the first place. I really want to be friends. Do you think we can do that?"

There's silence and a small smile pressed again his pink lips.

"I think we can do that."

Before she could do anything, Jim pulled her into a hug and lifted her into the air in delight. Yeah, she liked this. Even if it wasn't what she initially wanted she could feel herself becoming happy again. It actually felt like she had friends, like actual good friends.

Jim placed Arden down on the ground and his eyes found Bones.

"So what are we off to do?"

"We?" asked Leonard, "There was never any _we_, and what happened to that meeting of yours?"

"I rescheduled it. So anyone up for ice cream?"

Arden's face light up with delight, if there was anything in the world she was excited for it was defiantly ice cream.

"I want some"

"No!" Leonard barked, his permanent grumpy expression returning back to his face. Did he have to lecture her again about the detriments of ice cream? Jim's brown arched as he gave his roommate a funny look.

"Who was the dick that stuck a stick up your ass this morning? You're grouchier than ever."

"He's just angry 'cause he accidently told my dad he was gay."

"You're gay? Well shit, Bones if you told me we could have been having anal for years. I even have the lube back in the dorm."

"I swear to god, if you even try-" Leonard grumbled.

Jim and Arden laughed. Yeah, she could get used, the three of them together. She could get used to this for sure.

* * *

A/N: After last chapter i thought fluff seemed good. Next chapter is going to be a time skip so we can actually get back into the movie. Its only going to be a year later so its not going to be that much of a difference. Leave a review tell me what you think. Anything you like or hate about this story let me know so i can make this better!


	10. Damn that Vulcan Bastard

One Year Later-

Monday:

Arden Pike licked her lips impatiently. She coated the cue stick with blue billiards chalk before placing the block next to her beer. The pool table read as clearly as the map to the galaxy.

She took a deep breath and leaned against the table, her breasts grazing over the bench and she held her cue stick in position. The bar smelled like booze, cigarettes and salt water. It was no shock, it was after all May and the hotter San Francisco got, the more distinct the salt water became.

Arden's concentration pinned on the purple ball in the distance. She was sure she could make a clean shot into one of the pockets on the corners of the table but there was always a possibility she would also accidently hit one of the striped ball in the process. She made up her mind quickly and chose to take her chances. Arden drew her arm back and sucked in a breath. Her arm rolled into motion. She was centimeters away from the ball when she felt the hard smack on her ass.

She jumped and the point of the cue met the ball and sent it soaring. The cue ball jumped over the solid purple sphere she had aimed for and rocketed into impact with the striped burgundy one she was trying to avoid. The striped ball shot straight into the right corner pocket in a smooth motion.

A gleeful cheer, yelled behind her as she smashed the butt of her stick against the floor.

"Damnit Jim!" she yelled and spun around.

The top of his blonde hair stuck skyward and he held his hands in the air innocently but the grin on his face told the entire story. He wasn't sorry.

"That is totally cheating. You're not supposed to do that."

"I couldn't help it. You, leaning over the table like that, it was practically an invitation."

She shoved the cue stick at his chest. He took it with out question as her hands shot to the half empty bottle of beer sitting on the edge of the table. Her lips met the opening and she savored the bitter taste of her fourth beer that night.

Jim Kirk watched her. He pressed the stick firmly on the ground and leaned his weight against it, also taking another swing as his drink. Their eyes met and the electicity that seemed to sore between the two of them since the first time they met was still there. He gave her a smirk and she rolled her eyes.

She scanned around the room for the time and found it was almost midnight. She had less than thirty minutes to savor her birthday and yet the most important thing was missing. She had gotten practically all she wanted for her twenty fourth birthday. A special lunch with her father, a present from Christine and even a celebration with her best friend but all that was missing was her Bones.

"When did Len say he was going to be here again?"

"I told you already," he stated, placing the beer from his hands into hers and walking around the table to the cue ball "Bones said he was going to come over once he finished studying for his final tomorrow."

"Don't tell me you fell for that lie?"

There was a crack and the two young adults watched Jim nail one of his striped balls into one of the pockets. He looked up from the table and gave her an arrogant expression. He only had one ball left not including the eight ball and he was damn proud of it.

"Arden sweetheart, listen to me. I know when Bones lies and he doesn't lie when he talks about you so relax, grab another beer cause I'm about to whoop your ass birthday girl."

"Oh really, you're going to whoop my ass. Sorry to break it to you but I'm not going to let you do that."

"Why not?"

"It is my birthday after all."

Jim made a face and rested the cue stick against the table. He strode around her to side and slipped the drinks out of her hands, placing them directly on their field of action. The drinks were no where close to the balls, but even if they were, Jim didn't give a damn. He smiled down at her, the way an older brother would at his little sister. It was the most appropriate definition of their relationship. Christopher Pike had taken the obvious role of his father and it was only logical why it felt as though they were sibling in a sence. He looked out for her no matter what.

He had a hard time understanding his feeling for her and the sex only made things more confusing. The love he felt for Arden was platonic but he did admit there was a small part of him that didn't care. They weren't really brother and sister and sometimes he couldn't help but be too comfortable with her.

"Come on Arden, I'll love you if you let me win."

"You already love me you idiot."

"But I'll love you this much more."

Jim held out his hands to indicate how much more he would love her. Before she could even process the gesture, Jim threw his arms over her and squeezed her into a tight hug. The two laughed as though they hadn't laughed in ages and before she knew it Jim had managed to prop her up onto of the pool table and nested himself in between her legs.

After a moment or so, Jim ran his hands on the side of her thighs as though he were well aware of the Goosebumps forming on her skin. Full lips, formed into a grin as though he were holding himself back from laughing at a really funny joke.

"What?" she asked.

"Its nothing, I just really like it when you smile like that."

The friction from his hands stopped and he gave her knees a pinch. She was getting red to the face and her smile more prominent.

"Shut up James."

"I'm seriously. I love it when you smile because you get these large dimples on either side of your face. It's adorable." He took a gentle step closer to her; as though _that_ were possible, and lowered his voice enough so that she could still hear him over the light music playing over the entire bar, "I'm really glad you're happy. You seemed really upset when you left your programming class today. You never did tell me what happened."

The first time since they entered that bar, her face fell, back to that same sad a desperate expression Jim had mentioned. She didn't want to think about it let alone talk about it. She had made a mistake listening to Commander Spock the way she had. She could remember clearly the conversation they had when she "volunteered" for the Kobayashi Maru the year before and how Commander Spock specifically stated she would be a "great addition" to the course.

She hated him, she hated the class and she hated everything Vulcan. The class was a disaster and it was clear from day one she wasn't right for it yet Commander Spock said nothing. Somehow she managed to stay there for the whole Semester, doing fairly decent in some programs and poorly in others. The course was too advanced for her, she admit, but a challenge never killed anyone.

Her grade in the class wouldn't have been a big deal but it fulfilled one of her major requirements to graduate and without passing the class she couldn't be able to leave the academy with the others in her grade.

Jim shifted uncomfortable in the silence, jamming a finger into her rib.

"Come on; tell Papa Jim all about it."

"I will, if you don't call yourself Papa Jim ever again."

He hummed. "That might be a hard one but for you, I'll try."

He shot her a wink and gave her a look that he knew would always cheer her up. Her body moved the way he knew it would and it only reassure him that he was at least doing something right. She looked at him, eagerness in her swelling blue eyes. Jim guessed this was how his eyes affected others. He simply couldn't stop staring.

Arden's lips parted apart as though she were in an attempt to say something, but before he had the chance he felt a hand clasp his back. Both adults' turned, expecting to find Leonard McCoy, standing there to greet them but the bundle of thick brown hair that sat on top of the person head didn't belong to Doctor McCoy.

Jim blinked a moment.

"Gary? Gary!" Arden watched Jim pull the man, Gary, into one of those hugs men typically do "How've you been you sonofabitch. I missed you!"

When Jim pulled back from the brunette he had his hands clasped on his arms and gave the man a good look down. Arden watched from the top of the pool table. She didn't know what the hell was going on and didn't care. She was still pretty angry about her class.

Taking hold of one of the abandoned beer on the table, Arden took a swing, not really caring if it were her drink or Jim's. He was too distracted by Gary to even notice.

"Oh you know Jim, the usual. I see you're up to your standard activities are normal."

Gary glanced over at her as though he thought he knew what was going to happen between the two once they were out of the bar.

Jim automatically caught the look and he knew better. He turned his attention back on the blonde and gave her a crooked grin.

"Arden, this is one of my friends Gary Mitchell. He was in a tactical class I was helping a while back. Gary, this is Arden Pike."

"Oh I know who she is."

Gary Mitchell held out a hand and shook hers with it. She didn't bother asking what sort of conversations the two had about her. She didn't want to know why she _always_ seemed to be a topic of discussion with it came to Jim.

When they finished shaking hands Gary turned back to his friend.

"What are you doing here during finals week?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Jim laughed.

A sigh escaped her lips and she slipped off the billiards table. She was used to it when Jim's friends came along and never really minded meeting new people but it was her birthday. Leonard still hadn't showed up.

When Arden walked past the two boys, she could feel Jim's eyes glancing over her as she walked to one of the booths with her drink. That didn't stop him from talking. It was better for her, she needed an opportunity to try and calm down. She had to remind herself it was her birthday and thinking about the bad wasn't going to do her any good.

The blonde pressed her head against the wooden booth. The glass of her beer became amber under the light. When she glanced over at the boys, they were still in conversation. Jim was bobbing his head up and down and moving his mouth quickly. He patted his friend on the shoulder and Gary nodded in response, before he headed to the bar.

Arden whipped her head back stubbornly as Jim strutted over and slid into the seat opposite of her. His blond hair looked almost transparent under the lighting.

"You're all upset again," he started, "Cheer up. Gary is getting us some more beer and I'm sure Bones will be here any minute now."

"Jim, you don't understand. It's not just Leonard not showing up or having a bad day in class. I failed my Advanced Programming final along with the course. I can't graduate from the Academy without that."

"What the hell happened?"

She couldn't help but wonder the same thing.

_The class was silent, watching the simulation on the display board in the front of the room. Arden Pike, stood next to the monitor, her hands drenched in sweat from anticipation. Most of the presentation that had been conducted by the other students had lasted one to two minutes in the max but hers had lasted nearly ten minutes and counting._

_The Cadets in the room sat restlessly in their seat, most getting bored from the display on the screen. She noticed a few cadets already asleep in their chairs. Her eyes glazed over the cadets and she found her professor in the back. His eyes were on a PADD and he seemed to lose interest in her program all together._

_She only looked back up when the computer started to screech loudly. All the eyes of the cadets turned to the back of the class. Even Commander Spock who had been distracted looked up for a moment to see the computer frying, smoke floating up from his very own computer. In a snap the screen that displayed the entire program shut down and even killed the power in the room. _

_Commander Spock abandoned his station, where he was no doubt, grading the finals and switched on the emergency power._

_ "Thank you Cadet, for that…interesting procedure. However the purpose of the final was two reprogram the simulation, not break it." _

_Commander Spock crossed the room and swatted the smoke away from his computer to take a careful look at it. _

_ "You may take your seat Cadet."_

_She listened and slumped over back to her chair were a girl by the name of Monica sat. Monica studied Arden as she held her hand into fists, her knuckles turning white from anger._

_ "You're program wasn't that bad," Monica whispered beside her._

_Arden scoffed and didn't dare turn her head back at the Vulcan who was still aiding his computer._

_"Try telling that to Professor Spock. He's the one grading me after all."_

_She nodded without a word and turn around over her seat. Most of the Cadets were doing the same, most of them having small conversations silently as they waited for Commander Spock to fix the damage._

_Arden made out Uhura on the other side of the classroom. They hadn't talked much but they were familiar with one another. She was a good student, one of the best, but it was obvious Spock gave her special treatment. _

_Uhura watched over at the professor, concern in her eyes. It didn't take long for Commander Spock to make eye contact with her and then the whole class._

_"It appears Cadet Pike has disabled my computer. We will have to complete the final project on Wednesday. Uhura, would you care to go first during our next session?"_

_Uhura looked over at him, lost in words. Uhura's eyes met Arden's across the room and yet again their professor piped in. _

_"There should be no worry. I highly doubt your simulation will fail as Cadet Pike's has." _

_Arden could feel the eyes of the other cadet's fall on her. She hated him. She hated that Vulcan bastard so much she could just picture herself ripping those pointy ears of his off his head._

_Commander Spock dismissed the class shortly after. Before Arden could make it out the door she heard her instructor call for her. _

_"Did you need something Professor," she questioned _

_"Yes, I would like to discuss your project with you." He placed his hands behind his back as he spoke. "May you please enlighten me what the purpose of this project was?"_

_"It was to reprogram your simulation sir."_

_"And exactly what did your program do?" he questioned_

_"It…fried the system." _

_Her eyes shot over the computer what had been smoking earlier. It wasn't showing a signs of life. She shot her glance back over at the instructor. He wasn't pleased a bit even with the correct answer she gave. His head declined slightly as though he were agreeing with her statement._

_She didn't know why she put up with all his crap. He didn't get it. He didn't understand how much stress his class was puttering her in. she barely slept at night because she was obsessively trying to finish programs for his class. He couldn't image exactly how many pills she was taking because of the stress she was getting from the class. Only Doctor McCoy knew and he wasn't very happy about prescribing so much either._

_Commander Spock spun around and started to pace the room._

_"Cadet, you were aware that this was an Advanced Programming course did you not?"_

_"Yes I did."_

_"It appears you did no or else your grade would have certainly been better." _

_He made a sharp stop and placed the PADD in his hands back on the table and slid it over the table, indicating he wanted her to look at the contents of the screen. Her body shifted toward the table and her eyes darted across the screen. It took a moment to see exactly what her Professor wanted her to look at. _

_"I failed your project. This will mean that you will not pass my class."_

_It dawned on her exactly how fucked she was. She couldn't breathe let alone think in the situation._

_"Just give me another chance. I need to pass this course to graduate," she begged._

_Commander Spock left the PADD on the table and shook his head._

_"I understand your concern Cadet but giving you another attempt would simply be unfair to the others."_

_"But Spock!" He frowned at her informality, "Professor," she corrected, "you don't seem to understand. My graduation from the Academy is next week; I NEED to pass this class." _

_"Well then, I am sorry but it seems you will not be able to graduate with the others."_

_"Fucking unbelievable," she muttered. _

_Her hand rose to her face and she covered her mouth lost in deep though. It had to be the worst birthday present ever. She didn't know what she was going to do. How was a stupid class going to prevent her from graduating even though she had been in the academy for four years?_

_She didn't think she could take much more of the Vulcan. Before he managed to get anything else out of that sly mouth of his she brought her hand down._

_ "Is that all you needed to tell me sir?" she tried to ask in the most polite way possible._

_"Affirmative."_

_"Good, I'll be going then." _

_Heading straight to the door she didn't look back. If she looked back now she was sure she could rip those ears off his head. She walked and got to the frame of the door before she heard the Commander call her once again. She didn't dare look back but stopped, as he got the last word._

_"There is no need to attend Wednesday's class Cadet Pike. Attending will not do anything to improve your grade."_

She remembered she ran after hearing that statement. She ran out the room, and ran out the building as fast as she could. The emotions that ran thorough her veins were that of wanting to cry unconditionally and that of wanting to punch someone in the gut. Luckily for her, that was when Jim had found her, frustrated and wanting to blow off some steam.

Replaying the episode in her head she had forgotten Jim was sitting opposite of her his head tilted to the side, eyes scanning his best friend, the girl he admired so much. Jim leaned forward and stretched his hands out across the table. Spending over a year with her taught him all he needed to know about the blonde. He knew the way she shut down when she thought sometimes and how she would beat herself up over stupid things. He was guilty of it too but being at the academy, with actual friends did help.

Jim lightly pressed his warm skin again her hand that rested, grasping onto the bottle of beer. The touch was like electricity, jolting through her body. She jumped in a frenzy. He didn't like the look in her eyes. It was full of bitterness mixed with a full dose of fear.

"What happened in your programming class?" he tried again.

"Its nothing," She smiled, "I failed the final and the course and I needed to pass that class to graduate."

There was a broken edge to her voice when she spoke. He knew how much time she had spent on the class and the strain it put on her and to see she came out with nothing in the end only sickened him. There had to be another way for her to graduation. It didn't even compute in his mind that there wasn't any other possible solution.

"Don't act like its over. Graduation isn't for another week. Why don't you talk to your dad he can probably convince your Professor to give you another shot. Captain Pike can make a good argument. I'm sure he'll help."

"That's not going to happen, Jim." She whispered.

Jim bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn't going to give up on her that easily. He leaned back against the hard wooden frame of the booth and crossed his arms over his chest.

He was going to help her. He wasn't sure how, but he was going to figure it out.

"Look, I'm sorry that that has to happen to you. If my opinion matters, I actually think you're good at programming better than me at least."

"Better than James T Kirk," She questioned sarcastically.

He made a face and reached out for one of the sugar packets that sat on the center of the table. He flicked one of her and watched it shoot in the air, nearly hitting her face. She giggled lightly. He really did like it when she smiled, it was as though she radiated off some sort of glow when she did but the problem was still at hand. What was she going to do? He sat, thinking hard about the solution.

This wasn't like a no-win- scenario and if it were that wouldn't stop him. He didn't believe in no-win-scenarios. He almost laughed from the though, of course not, if he did believe in them, he wouldn't have tried to take the Kobayashi Maru three times. Well technically it was still two, but he was planning on the third, that Friday afternoon.

He had bothered to tell Bones or Arden yet but he wasn't ready. He could recall the sleepless nights he had for weeks where he found himself in the computer lab staring aimlessly at the computer screens watching simulation after simulation of the Kobayashi Maru exam. He was going to do it this time. He didn't care what anyone said. There was no way in his mind he would give in to believing in a no-win-scenario.

His eyes widened in though. He knew how he was going to help her.

"I think your professor is an idiot," He tried to sweet talk her, "I'm seen plenty of your programs and they blow my mind baby. Believe me on this one; just imagine a really good blowjob. I'm talking about the kind where they use a lot of tongue right before they deep throat you. Keep that in mind because your programs are ten times better than that."

Arden blinked and he realized that wasn't the best example to give her.

"The point is, we can use that to our advantage. I have an idea to show him exactly how wrong he is."

"An idea? Damnit Jim when are you going to finally figure out that when we do something involving one of your ideas things turn out bad!"

He rolled his eyes. The more and more he thought about it the more and more she seemed to be turning out like Bones. He made a mental note to make sure the two spent less time together. He didn't need two Bones; one supplied with an array of hyposprays was good enough for him.

"Come on, my ideas aren't bad. What happened on the Enterprise was a onetime deal I promise."

"I'm not talking about the Enterprise. I'm talking about all your other dumb ideas. Like that one last year involving the dog, I ended up having a broken leg by the end of the day, or that one earlier this school year where you thought it would be funny to hack all the servers to show porn. Great idea. Oh and let's not forget the one a couple months ago with Leonard. How could we forget about that one! Hooking him up with a stripper was such a fabulous idea. So fabulous you got a hypo to your neck."

He laughed at the last statement and dwelled on the good times. They were a team, the three musketeers, the incident with the stripper was just him simply looking out for his best friend and trying to get him laid, for his own health of course.

"But honestly," he began over chuckles, "listen to the idea. Your professor has a higher officer at the academy that he has to listen to no matter what. That officer obviously wants to maintain this unity at the Academy but, if you make a scene about how your professor isn't giving you another chance I'm nearly positive they'll rule in your favor and make your professor give you a redo. You're a senior Cadet and your father is Captain fucking Pike, they are going to listen to you but they will only do that if you make a big scene."

She seemed to listen to him, as though his words were a life jacket, preventing her from downing in her own mess. She pressed her lips tightly together, holding her breath as she did so.

"I suppose I could do that. So should I just yell at some Admiral or something?"

"That's not dramatic enough sweetheart." He slipped out of his seat and slid in right beside her in the booth. "What I'm about to tell you has to stay between the two of us," he spoke under his breath. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one from the Academy, that he knew, was around.

Gary was still occupied at the counter and he could see him flirting with some redhead. When he saw the coast was clear he faced back at his companion, "I'm planning on taking the Kobayashi Maru again—"

"You failed the test twice, what makes you think the third time is going to make a difference?"

"No, that isn't even the point," He grabbed either side of her face as though the gesture would make her concentrate more; make her see his point of view. "People say the test is a no-win scenario."

"Because it is-"

"But it's not! No-win-scenario's don't exist. There is always another way and the only reason people haven't figured it out is because they are too afraid to dream a little bigger. If we simply look at the problem outside the box it will be clear what to do."

He was passionate about the topic he spent hours talking to Captain Pike about the same thing, his philosophies on the Kobayashi Maru exam and no one seemed to understand his frustration or even bother to try and understand where he was coming from and why the test bugged him so much.

"I'm right here Jim, you don't have to yell," she reassure him with a squeeze on his leg.

"I know. Sorry, sometime it feels as though no one listens," She nodded, she understood, "What I am really trying to say is. The program is designed to be unwinnable. It's completely unfair so if someone like you were to oh I don't know, program a subroutine to change the conditions of the test, beating the Kobayashi Maru would actually be possible."

Arden pulled away from his grasp and it felt as though he had lost a part of him. He needed her support, more than he cared to admit.

"I've stuck around with your dumb ideas before Kirk but this is cheating."

"The test is a cheat plus I like to think of it as using my resources."

She didn't crack a smile like he hoped she would. She was backing out and fast.

"I would love to help you but I can't. I couldn't even beat my Professors program in class. The Kobayashi Maru is the mother load of Programs. I have no chance against that"

"Exactly why you need to do it. If you can beat this program your professor will _have_ to change your grade. You will prove to him you know exactly what you were doing. You are giving yourself another shot when it comes to this grade."

"Jim…" he placed a long finger on her lips and gave her a look.

"Come on, you want to graduate don't you."

She nodded her head slowly.

"Good. This is your only shot and if it helps I'll put the blame on myself if we get caught. It's my idea and I'll go down with it."

There was a pregnant pause and she ripped his finger from her lips.

"Fine I'll do it damnit." She grumbled and he pulled her into a hug.

This wasn't about him beating the test anymore, it was about looking out for the girl he loved that one he cared about just as much as he would a sister and there was nothing stopping him from looking out for her.

* * *

A/N: sorry for not updating in a long time I have been distracted but there should be more chapters coming out soon. I am not very confident on how i presented Spock in this chapter, so feedback will be helpful because if you haven't guessed Spock now has a major role. Also Bones is in the next chapter. Until next time...


	11. Drunk Jokes and Cowboys

A/N: sorry this took longer than expected i had to do a lot of research for this chapter. Hope you enjoy my efforts.

* * *

Tuesday 1200hrs:

Blue eyes blinked tiredly as fingers sank into the soft blonde hair, twisting strands into knots. She would regret ruining her hair once the adrenaline stopped pulsing through her veins but at the moment Arden Pike had more important things to do. The code to her subroutine was a mess. She could see now, why the program itself failed miserably. All in all, nothing was going the way she planned.

Arden jumped screens on her personal computer to look back at the decryption program, which was trying to figure out the log on to the Kobayashi Maru's main frame. The only thing greeting her on the page was the big green letters which read _LOGON: error. Access Denied_.

She typed furiously trying again if her decryption hard drive would break through the system but all she saw were more "Access Denied" messages.

She cursed under her breath.

She needed access to those files if she were to program a subroutine for the test. If it were her decision a subroutine would have been avoided. To her they were annoying, specifically because all the language support it required to function properly. Subroutines were like big babies, needing constant nurture to develop correctly. It wasn't simply whipping up tasks for the program to undergo. No. A subroutine needed to be provided with outside variables to connect to the program it would be hooking up to and it would also need a returning call, once the task was complete.

Subroutines were tiresome to make even if they were effective when programmed correctly. How was she going to get the program to Jim by Friday, she had no idea.

She cursed again, rubbing her tumbles hard with her fingers.

"What are you muttering on about now?"

Her head snapped back at the voice. Her father, who had stepped out of his office for a moment was back. Papers from his mailbox were cradled in his arms.

"Nothing," she muttered and sank deep into the leather chairs that sat perpendicular to the desk.

A soft hum came from Pike. He shuffled across the room and stopped behind her, poking over her shoulder to get a peek at what she was working on.

"Um, hi, is there something you need?"

She turned her head and changed the screen quickly, like any teenager who didn't want their parents to see what they were doing.

"I was just wondering what you've had your eyes glued on since you got here, that's all."

"Oh, well I was just looking at—um," She turned her head to look at the screen in front of her. She didn't recognize the page. It was easy enough to tell it was a paper, a really long paper to be exact. She scrolled to the top of the page and recognized it as the attachment Jim had sent to her via email, "I was just read over your dissertation."

"My dissertation…"

He pondered over the statement as though the paper were something foreign to him. He walked to the back of his deck and took a seat in his chair, placing the mail he had in his arms onto of a mound of other papers he had yet to look at.

Arden hummed in agreement.

"Jim recommended it and attached it to an email he sent me."

A soft smile crept onto his face as though he didn't expect less from his favorite Cadet. Jim talked about it a lot, the dissertation. She didn't blame him for being slightly obsessed with the report done on the USS Kelvin. He was curious to know what happened on the day of his birth—the day his father gave his life for the 800 crew members on board that ship.

"You know, he thinks you're an excellent writer by the way. I can't say the same for him. He made me read over his thesis a few weeks ago and it was _torture_. His paper was around the postulation that the understanding of the inner workings of a starship, were just as important as crew itself. It's a great idea but he can't write for his life. Last time I checked Leonard was helping him."

"Well Doctor McCoy would be the person to go to," her father stated with a nod.

He grabbed one of the papers on his deck and leaned back on his chair as he read over the contents in front of him.

She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Did he never tell you," Pike glanced up for his work for a second, "Doctor McCoy received an award on this thesis on neural grafting and axonal pathways about a year ago. He knows how to write better than most Cadets around here."

"He never mentioned that…"

It surprised her that even now; she was learning new things about him. Thinking about Leonard only reminded her how much she missed him. They had both been busy in the past several weeks but she hoped they would finally have some sort of time to spend together.

She thought about going back to her programming, to get her mind off of her absent friend but stopped when she remembered it would be no use without access to the main frame. Only problem was she didn't know who had access to the programming of the test and without their login it was impossible to do anything else.

A sigh escaped her lips and she noticed her father's eyes still preying on her.

"What part are you on," he asked gently out of curiosity.

"Excuse me?"

"The dissertation. You said you were reading it, what part are you on?"

She quickly glanced down at the glowing screen in her lap. Her eyes, scanning something relevant to spit back out at him. Only a fragment of one of her father's statements caught her off guard. _Lightening Storm in Space_. She went with it.

"Oh you know that part about the lightening storm in space."

There was a pause.

Did she read that wrong? She looked back at the screen and found the sentence it was in again. It did in fact state "lightning storm in space", but she couldn't see why her father was giving her a strange look until he spoke up.

"A lightening storm in space," he recalled, "That's the first paragraph isn't it?"

She closed her eyes, mentally slapping herself in the process.

"Oh, what can I say, I'm a slow reader," she confessed with a shrug of her shoulders.

Pike studied her as though she were crazy, or maybe he was questioning why he had to have a daughter like her in the first place. The thought didn't seem to last long in his head either way. His eyes rolled and he went back to his paper, eyes rushing over the lines horizontally as though he were an old fashioned type writer.

Giving up her attempt on her program, she stuffed her things into a large messenger bag that rested against of the legs of the chair she sat at. When she had put everything away, her body leaned forward on her chair. She reached toward a small bowl that held mints and popped one in her mouth.

"Are you going to ask me how my party went," she question, rolling the mint around in her mouth.

Her father openly sighed and placed the paper in his hands down on the deck. He wasn't going to get any work done with her in there. He knew that, and stopped his efforts.

"Let me have a wide guess, it was the usual. Kirk spent most of his time picking up females."

She snorted at the comment and asked, "couldn't you try and talk like a normal person?" She tried to contain her laughter but failed, even this caused her father to crack a smile momentarily.

"While Kirk is doing that, Doctor McCoy is at the bar nursing a bottle of Bourbon or either trying to stop Kirk for getting into a fight. Then there's you," He paused and give her a look, "you probably got drunk off your ass and told horrible bar jokes."

"I do not tell horrible bar jokes," she retorted, "plenty of people laughed at the one I told last night. It was um-oh right, the joke was, 'why did the Klingon cross the road,' … 'to conquer the other side' get it?"

He held back a smile and shook his head in disapproval.

"Believe me I get it, it's just cheesy."

"You just can appreciate a good joke."

She crossed her arms over she chest and sighed dramatically. So her jokes did get cheesy when she was drunk, everyone knew that but he was pretty spot on about practically everything else.

Jim would in fact go around and pick up girl. It was just in his nature to do so. Even he was pretty spot on when it came to her, but Leonard was a whole other story. Only when he had bad days did he grab the entire bottle of Bourbon and drink it by himself. On an average night he would engage in his own fun.

Last night was entirely unusual in itself and she slightly blamed Leonard for it. She wouldn't have drank so much if he had shown up. To say the least, she drank so much she could barely remember the night. She could remember the billiards game and a little bit of the body shots for sure but nothing was really coming back to her.

It wasn't until the morning did she realize the damage done. She had broken a shoe somehow and had fallen asleep with Jim's jacket. It was easy to say that that wasn't the most shocking thing she woke up to. The wrapped bottle with her name addressed to it, came as the most shocking piece. Romulan Ale. That's what Leonard had left for her. A bottle of a highly illegal drink and he just left it there for her as though it went a big deal. Sometimes she questioned his sanity.

Arden and her father continued to talk for several minutes about the bar until her communicator went off. She flipped it open with a swing of her wrist and noticed a message waiting for her.

_Get Bones_.

That was all it said and it didn't take a genius to figure out who had sent the message either. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"What happened?"

"Jim," she muttered, lifting herself off the chair. "He wants me to gets Len for some reason, didn't say why."

Fully out of her seat, she reached down, grabbed the strap to her messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'll talk to you later daddy."

She placed a kiss on her father's cheek before heading to the door. Pike raised his hand in a half hearted goodbye.

"Drop on by whenever you feel like it kiddo."

She gave him a smile. The door shut behind her, beginning her quest to find her friend. She only wished Jim gave her some sort of idea where to look. Sending Jim a comm did no good either. He had as much knowledge of where Leonard was as she did and the only help he was was just providing her ideas where he could be.

He wasn't worth the trouble. As much as she adored Leonard, looking around for him in the heat was not how she imagined spending her Tuesday afternoon. She looked everywhere Jim suggested, the dorms, the student center, the mess hall, even the class room he took his morning final in and nothing. There was no sign of him anywhere and she was ready to give up.

"Remind me again why you aren't the one looking for him," she questioned into the communicator in her hand.

Jim's laughter rumbled from the other side.

"Because, I'm in the library studying, that's why."

"Studying my ass," she muttered indirectly back at him.

She did a little hop. The weight of her bag was suddenly getting a bit too heavy for her taste. She slipped the bag off her one shoulder and placed it to the other. She made a note that if she did find Leonard he was going to put those hands of his to use with her shoulders.

"Let's make a deal. If Bones isn't in the hospital you can stop looking for him."

"You're going to owe me for this kid,"

"I always do," he replied in a sing song voice and she ended the conversation with the snap of her wrist, not bothering to say bye.

The heat from the California sun beat down on her heavily. She twisted her long hair into a bun. The heat was making her hair stick against the nape of her neck and the feeling made her uncomfortable. The walk to the hospital was full of Arden whining and cursing. She had only been 24 for the past day and playing Sherlock Holmes was not on her agenda.

The hospital was always too quiet for her taste, at least the part of the hospital she saw. She was sure people like Christine and Leonard heard more of the commotion inside the actually hospital than she ever would have. Arden made way to the reception deck quickly, crossing her fingers, hoping this would be the last spot.

The woman behind the deck looked up from her work, a bark brow raised in the air.

"May I help you?"

"Hopefully, do you know if Doctor McCoy is in today?"

"Give me a moment," she spoke in the most professional of manners.

The woman behind the deck picked up the phone that was beside her and punched numbers furiously with her index finger. Arden waited patiently, placing her arms on the counter top of the high desk. A shiver went down her spine. She hadn't expected the surface to be as cold as it was.

The woman behind the desk didn't seem to notice. Her mouth moved quickly once her call had been answered but it didn't look like she was doing most of the talking. She was humming softly, nodding her head as she listened to the voice on the other side of the line.

"Yes doctor, I will let her know," the receptionist took her ear off the phone, a wide smile appeared on her face and she slapped a hand over the phone.

"Doctor McCoy is currently in the building," Arden signed in relief. It was about time she had found him, "but he's not taking any patients today."

"Can you just tell him it's Arden Pike please?"

Heavy black curls bounced across the woman as she shook her head.

"He told me under no condition is he seeing anyone today. He said he will be back in the office tomorrow morning. If it is an emergency and you can't wait for tomorrow I can see if one of the other doctors has an available spot open."

A sign of frustration left her lips.

Of course things wouldn't be simple once she found him, she could have guessed by her luck, something like this were to happen. Everything was suddenly starting to tick her off and what really bothered her was the weight on her bag on her shoulder. She slammed the leather bound messenger bag onto the counter, hearing it make a large smacking noise as it made contact with the surface of the desk. The receptionist jumped.

"Is that him on the phone?"

Her finger pointed at the phone in the woman's hands and the receptionist eyes glanced down.

"Yes it is but—"

Arden didn't wait for the woman to finish. She leaned across the table toward the phone. The receptionist pulled back, taking the object in her hands, with her. The thought to grab the receiver hadn't crossed her mind instead she pressed a button and heard the phone switch over to speaker.

Both women heard talking from the other end. She could make out Leonard's voice speaking softly to someone else on his side of the line. She didn't care if she sounded rude; she was tired, hot and frustrated beyond belief.

"Leonard, I swear to god if you don't give make your schedule available this second, that bottle you gave me last night is going to be shoved up your ass while you sleep!"

"Jesus Christ woman, this is a hospital-."

"Leonard. Horatio. McCoy."

There was silence from the other end of the phone. The silence sat between the two for so long, she wondered if he had hung the phone up on her. If it weren't from the heavy sigh that rippled through the speaker she was sure that would have been the case.

"I'm leaving in 5 minutes, can you wait for me outside."

She wasn't sure what she grumbled in response but it was bad enough that the receptionist's face turned pink as she cut the connection from the other line.

There was no way in hell she was going to wait for him outside, not in that heat. She gave the receptionist a small smile and found a chair in the waiting room and waited. She crossed her legs over the other, making sure the skirt of her academy uniform didn't ride up in the process. Her finger started to beat against the arm rest impatiently.

By the time Leonard had shown up, her leg had gone numb. He walked from the doors of the ER, his cadet reds clinging onto his tan skin. He didn't notice her at first. She noticed the way he had to take a double take as their eyes met from across the room.

Arden watched Leonard stride across the room and stop right in front of her chair, standing a bit too close so it would be hard for her to slip out without him catching her before she made it too far. Leonard crossed an arm over the other. His hair hung messily over his forehead.

"You can be so obnoxious some times," he grumbled with a natural crease in his eyes.

She snorted loudly and unfolded her legs. She got out of her chair and didn't have to put much effort into pushing him out of the way. She didn't say anything as she headed to the exit. Leonard followed behind her, a bag in his hands as he caught up with her. He managed to get half a step ahead and began walking sideways in an attempt to continue his complaining.

"I bet you think this is funny. Well it ain't. I'm a doctor damnit, you can't threaten me in front of my nurses."

"And you can't miss my birthday party—oh wait a minute. I guess we both ended up doing something we can't do."

It was a cheap shot. A really cheap shot, she regretted saying as soon as it came out of her mouth. She wasn't mad about the party, not anymore at least, but she was frustrated and hot and just angry in general and yelling at Leonard made her feel a bit better.

She managed to get in front of him but before she could get any further, Leonard's hand grasped again her arm. He yanked her into a stop and the two stood in the middle of the walk way staring at one another.

Hazel eyes looked into blue, intensely. His large frame seemed to collapse with a sigh.

"Is this what this is all about, your party? I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I tried, but by the time I finished the bar was closed."

Even though she believed his story she couldn't look at him straight in the face. She was angry damnit, she didn't want his soothing words calming her down just let. She whipped her head to the side and felt a few strands let loose from her bun.

"Come on darlin' don't be like this," he pleaded.

His finger slipped under her chin and turned her head back over in his direction. Under the sun his hair resembled the color of mocha and the small tints of green in his hazel eyes popped like spring. She wanted to stay angry, let off some steam, but her thoughts were wondering. She really liked the way his hair rested on his forehead like that. She liked the way the sun bounced off his tan skin and she especially liked the way he looked at her with that pleading look in his eyes as though it were his job to patch her up whenever something happened.

She tried to steady her breath enough to not make it sound like she was sighing but the attempt only made her breathing rigid.

"You're hairs a mess," she stated.

He watched her hands sweep up. Hair slipping in between her fingers as she combed back his hair. His lips moved into a silent thank you.

"Jim's been looking for you."

He enjoyed the way her hands slipped through his hair, as though she were trying to memorize the way it felt. He watched the way her lips moved as she talked and the way her eye lashes curled when she blinked. Arden's eyes slipped from his hair to his own eyes and she stopped as though she had done something wrong.

"He wanted me to get you."

"I know. I just got his last comm."

She tried not falling for his look, the sort of look a father gave his daughter as though he wanted to protect her under all costs. It was in his nature to act like that, he had a daughter of his own and he was a doctor after all. Arden tried to fight the smile on her face but failed. He made her happy even if she was at her worst.

Taking a step back, she did a little hop again, rolling her shoulder in the process. He caught the gesture and held out a hand.

"Let me carry your bag. Come on."

When she didn't hand it over, he took it for his own, sliding the strap off of her shoulder and slipping it onto his own. They only start walking again when he placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to get moving again.

They walked slowly, compared to the pace they had walked earlier. They kept a close distance, shoulders bumping and hands brushing gently against the others. If there was any way to summarize their relationship it was that. They didn't have to talk for things to be alright between them just being near the other was good enough.

"I can make it up to you if you want," He finally said over the silence as the two walked inside the library.

"Make what up?"

"Your Birthday" she rolled her eyes "Let me take you out somewhere Friday night. Just the two of us. No Jim, no Starfleet. Nothing but the two of us and time its self."

She snorted.

"And my dad though I told bad jokes."

"I'm serious," he spoke firmly and she stopped smiling. Only his face told her how serious he was about the subject.

"We can, if you really want to. I have a final that ends at three so any time after that is good with me."

"Sure."

She noticed the small smile appear on his face. They walked up the stairs of the library to the third floor where most cadets sat to study. They wondered around quietly until they found Jim, old books scattered all over the giant table he sat at. His face was pressed against a paper, a pen rested between his fingers. His other finger was pressed against a book and it looked as though he were copying something onto the paper he was working on. Leonard and her exchanged a look and took a seat beside one another.

Seeing the chairs move from the corner of his eye, Jim's head snapped up.

"You found him," Jim exclaimed with a smile. Arden nodded her head slowly as though the fact were obviously from the way Leonard sat beside her. He handed Arden her bag and then used his own as a way to slide Jim's books out of his way.

"Mind explaining to me why you needed me so badly kid?"

Jim's eyes darted from Arden back over to Bones and a huge grin spread over his lips.

"Oh yeah, can you put these books away for me?"

She was surprised his mouth hadn't hung down in shock, but she was more surprised that she didn't stand up from her seat and smack Jim. He had dragged her all across campus to find Leonard just so he could put away his books. Unbelievable. Leonard's jaw tightened after a long moment.

"You've called me nonstop all day just so I would pick up your mess?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?"

"You are fucking unbelievable you know that. Pick up your own damn mess."

"But Bonesy!" Jim started to whine.

Even she had to agree, with Leonard on this one. In fact if this were a contest to see who would snap first and murder Jim, she was sure she would be the one to win that competition. She was ready to leap across the table and strangle him for making her run around in the heat all day, hell she could have been happier if Jim had simply asked her to come and put the books away from him. Anything would have been better than sweating out of her skin.

"Ok fine whatever, don't do it," He pouted, knocking a book he was no longer using onto the floor. This caused a few students to glance over in their direction to see what the disturbance was. "How's the _thing_ going?"

He avoided the work Kobayashi Maru purposely and watched Arden lean back on the wooden chair, giving him a disappointing look.

"I need access to the programs mainframe in order to link the subroutine and make it compatible."

Jim's eyes glanced over to Bones. He wasn't paying much attention to their programming talk. He had tried to keep up some other times but learned to accept that programming was not this specialty. When he realized there was no scolding or weird looks from his roommate he glanced back over to his fellow Cadet.

"How are you going to get access to it?"

"I've figure out there is a supercomputer here on campus. The data bank has all the information on it so if I can get to the computer I can probably do it. The only problem is the room they keep the computer in is locked and only very specific people have access to it. Luckily, the room is located right next to the computer lab so sneaking in is an option."

"Hold on a minute," Leonard leaned in toward the two. He hadn't paid much attention to their talk before but his ears perked at the sound of "sneaking in". Leonard glanced between the two blondes and his voice turned shallow as he spoke, "sneaking in? What the hell are you two going on about? Actually I don't even want to know. Just keep me out of it."

The first thought that came to his head was that this had to be one of Jim's stupid ideas. His last big idea had been months ago with the stripper. He shuttered at the thought. He still hated Jim for that prank.

Arden quickly turned her attention to the brunette beside her.

"Look Len, it's not a big deal. Jim's doing a research project," she lied skillfully enough that even Jim believed her "The problem is, he chose a really hard topic and the only think that has information happens to be that computer. The two of us were thinking about being authorization to use the computer but doing that takes days and his project is due this week. You of all people should understand that sometimes using the wrong means can be beneficial."

He frowned at her statement. Of course he understood the reference she had and he didn't exactly regret what he had done. The year before, he assisted the research on the Saurian virus inoculation on Dramia II. He had the ability to research and experiment with the virus as he wish. So he broke a few rules in the process while trying to test out the vaccine but if he hadn't broken Starfleet regulation he and the other doctors who were aiding in the research would have never discovered the solution. To say the least, he didn't get into any trouble.

Yeah, he understood clearly enough that sometimes breaking the rules were necessary for research, he just didn't like the idea that Arden and Jim were planning on sneaking in somewhere in order to do that.

"Alright fine, I get it, you don't have to remind me," Leonard grumbled

"You know too much Bones. I think our only option is to kill you now."

Jim smiled more pleased than he should have. Arden's head whipped back over to her other friend and her eyes shot him frightening expression.

"Or he can help us sneak in," she suggested

"What-hold on, since when did _I_ volunteer to come with," Jim questioned, pointing a finger at himself.

Arden hummed and tossed her head around as though she were thinking about it.

"Oh I don't know, maybe since you told me to program this damn thing you idiot."

The only thing that could be heard over her cruel laughter was the bitter gasp of "shit" from Jim's mouth. Leonard had to agree they were in some deep shit.

* * *

A/N: So I'm not really a big fan of this chapter for some reason but it was necessary for the plot to develop. So the Kobayashi Maru is going to take place on Friday so I am pretty much counting down days at this point until the test.

Leave a review. Tell me what your favorite ship is in the story. Are you rooting for Jarden (Jim and Arden) or Borden (Bones and Arden) and tell me why. If you have a good argument that might persuade me to make the story revolve around that ship. Good luck


	12. Mission Impossible

Wednesday 0200

"I don't know how in hell, that corn fed mind of yours thought _this_ would be okay."

"Come on, lighten up Bones, it's going to be fun."

Jim was on his knees, dark jeans scraping against the floor. His hips hovered beside the wall, perpendicular to the sliding door of the computer lab. The more he shifted his hands the more his stomach pressed against the wall.

The wire Jim was looking for brushed against his finger momentarily before he lost sight of it. He had opened the wiring box easily and was rewiring the door so it wouldn't open up while they were inside. He lowered his head a bit, to see if his sense of vision could help him grasp onto the wire but the inside of the box was too dark.

"Move your hand a bit," He muttered.

Jim slipped his hand out and grabbed Arden who stood beside him, a flashlight in her hand. She hadn't paid much attention to where she was pointing the thing. The funny look she shot Bones, told Jim she had other things on her mind than trying to help him with the door.

When she didn't response, Jim shifted her hand so he could see what he was doing.

Perfect.

He could see the wires clearly in view and grabbed hold of the one he had spent time trying get. He worked his magic, cutting certain wires and reconnecting others.

Standing in the dark, Leonard crossed his arms over his chest impatiently; he couldn't stand waiting like some sort of criminal much longer.

"The two of you don't need me damnit," he continued, "Can I just go back to the dorm and pretend like I didn't see anything."

Jim glanced over at the girl beside him who was shaking her head. He could tell from way Bones inhaled sharply, he was opening his mouth to make another complaint. Before he could voice his opinion, Arden dropped the light on the floor and strutted over to the oldest of the group. Jim didn't look back but he could hear the distinct sound of her smacking Bones over the head.

Words of anger roared from Leonard's mouth, words that would make his mother faint in shock. She almost immediately hit him over the head once more in response. He couldn't help it, Jim giggled in delight.

"Why do I even bother hanging out with you," he snared through his teeth.

"Cause you love me, you big baby."

"Unfortunately,"

Jim didn't even have to look at the two before he got grossed out. He made an over exaggerated noise from the corner of the room as though he were throwing up. In response, Leonard grabbed something that sat next to one of the computers. He didn't check what it was as he threw it across the room. It hit Jim's head with a thud causing him to wince in pain.

Turning around, Jim chucked the object back and proceeded to pick up the abandoned flashlight to finish his work.

Leonard McCoy wasn't pleased one bit. He unfolded his arms and glanced over at the shorter girl beside him. Her head only made it as high as his shoulder. Her hair was still tied, like it had been earlier that day, the loose strands that hung down, framed her face perfectly.

It took a moment for her to notice he was looking at her but when she did her brows arched high on her head.

"What," She asked softy.

It was nothing, he didn't answer.

"Seriously Len, cheer up. You literally don't have to do anything. All we need is for you and stay here and be on guard."

He knew that, it wasn't as though it were the first time she had mentioned that, but he still didn't like it. If they got caught they would get expelled. There was one more week until graduation and getting kicked out from the academy wasn't on his list of things to do before he graduated. But no, that wasn't on her mind at _all_. Consequences were never on her mind.

Arden placed a gentle hand on his arm and felt the way his muscles flexed under his shirt. Rubbing the fabric tenderly, she tried her best to try and calm him down. He wanted it to work. He wanted her touch to possess him in some sort of way and make him relaxed but it was no good.

"Come on cowboy," she pleaded, taking a small step in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck in the process, "just sit here and make sure no one else comes in. If you do, I'll let you try some of that Romulan Ale you got me."

Her voice pitched a little higher as she spoke. The pads of her fingers touching the sensitive spot on his neck and he practically turned to jelly.

"That ain't going to work on me darlin'. In fact I'm insulted you think bribin' me with alcohol would do anythin'."

"Come on Leonard, please,"

Her body pressed against him, as she spoke in a low tone. He watched, his mouth suddenly getting dry as she got on her toes and placed her soft lips on his cheek.

He looked like a fool, eyes wide like a 14 year old boy who had just had his first kiss. Arden cocked her head to the side and let her hands wonder down from around his neck and over his chest.

"I swear this is the last time I'll drag you into things," she reassure him.

He blinked several times. His Adams apple bobbed in his throat.

"F-fine."

Jim, who had been listening to the conversation the whole time, snickered. He knew Leonard was whipped but that was pathetic, even for him. Jim's snickering however, didn't go unheard. Leonard raised his head, his lip twitching in the process.

"You know what kid, you're annoying, shut up!"

Jim barked out a laugh and wired the last thing. He rose from the before he proceeded back to his friends. Jim placed the flashlight on the table beside one of the computers and scratched the back of his neck.

"No one should be getting through that door unless you let them in but if security comes make sure they don't see you alright Bones."

"I'm not stupid," he muttered.

Arden scoffed at the comment, sliding off of him. Her hands fell to her hips, her eyes darting up at the ceiling.

"So um-Jim, how are we getting up there exactly?"

Arden gestured her head toward a small air vent that rested above their heads. Although it was metal, it looked easy enough to push open and craw into. Leonard glanced up in horror. There was no way he was going to do that. He wasn't sure he would be able to fit, not with his shoulders at least. The others however, had a better chance. He was sure Arden wouldn't have trouble fitting in. Even Jim was small enough, to fit into something like that. He would probably have a little bit of trouble considering he stood about an inch shorter than Leonard's 6'1 height, but he was sure Jim would manage it somehow.

Jim pressed his lips together into a thin smile. They both knew that look. He was going to do something stupid.

Jim flashed Arden a quick wink saying, "Leave that to me," right before he instructed the two

to get out of the way. The two companions shifted over without a word. Jim moved back against one of the walls, his eyes plastered on the vent that hung in the air.

He was crazy.

That was the thought that crossed Leonard's mind. He was totally crazy and knew the idiot would try and jump up there to move the metal covering of the vent.

Jim bounced on the balls of his feet, getting a little spring in his step before he launched off the wall in a run. The Cadet sprinted across the room and jumped when he was nearly under the metal covering. Both Arden and Leonard watched as Jim soured through the air, completing missing the vent.

His momentum sent him shooting across the room. The blond slammed against one of the tables, the edge of the counter making impact below his hips. A noise, that resemble a mixture of a grunt and a whimper slipped out of his lips and Jim sank to the floor, holding his junk in his hands.

"You deserve that," Leonard spat.

"Okay," Jim breathed heavily, "that didn't go as planned."

"Obviously," Arden muttered and helped Jim up. His arm slung over her shoulder as she brought him back to where they were standing before, right under the vent.

"Bonesy do you think you can give me a boost up there?"

"Forget it."

He didn't sign up for this. Hell, he didn't sign up for any of this.

"Buts Bones, it'll just be a second. Let me get on your shoulders."

It took a good amount of pleading but he eventually agreed to it. Leonard bent down, purposely making it hard for Jim to drape his legs over his shoulders, but with a good shove Jim had managed it. Leonard hated the way Jim's jeans stretched over the back of his neck. Jeans weren't supposed to stretch in that way. Still, he managed to stand straight with some assistance. Leonard's hands laced around Jim's thighs, holding him sturdy against his frame.

Jim reached his arms over his head, his palms reached the metal casing of the vent and he slid the piece out of the way. He placed his hands on the edge of the opening, hoping to pull himself off of his friends shoulder and into the vent. Arden observed the way Jim's ass rose off of Leonard's shoulders briefly before he fell back down.

Leonard grunted and expected Jim's dilemma was from the fact that the vent was too small for Jim to hoist an elbow up and pull himself up. Jim huffed out a frustrated breath. He looked back down at the man under him and patted his friends head to get his attention.

"Come on Bones you need to boost me a little higher."

"You're not exactly light you know."

But he tried to give him a little push upwards like the friend he was. Jim pulled himself up more than he had the first time but it still wasn't good enough.

Arden stood, biting her lip, almost worried Jim was going to hurt himself somehow. He always managed to do something. The blond pulled himself high enough that he didn't need Leonard under him as a base but the doctor stood his ground watching helplessly incase Jim lost his grip and came tumbling down.

"Damnit, pull yourself up."

"I can't."

Jim glanced down, kicking his legs slightly in the process. He thought of an idea, maybe if he managed to get his feet on his shoulder maybe that would be the extra boost he needed to finally pull himself up. It was hard to navigate himself in retrospect to Bones so when he kicked his legs he didn't mean to kick his roommate in the face. It just sort of happened.

"Fuck!"

"Sorry!"

But it helped. The little kick in the face did give him the boost he needed to pull himself through and into the ventilation system. He managed to wiggle through the metal death trap and damn was it thing tight. He had enough room to somehow manage to turn around and lie on his stomach. Jim poked his head out of the opening.

The two love birds were right beside one another. Bones had his hands over the tip on his noise; he suspected that's where he kicked him. Arden tried to pry his hand away from his nose to take a look at the damage. She managed to take hold of his hand but when she saw that it was nothing more than a burse she pat his cheek firmly.

"You should be fine," Jim heard her say.

Ever from his space up above he could clearly see scowl on his roommates face.

"Yeah, well I don't _feel_ fine."

"God, I bet your daughter acts more mature than you,"

"Don't bring my daughter into this you wannabe-California-cheerleader,"

Jim rolled his eyes in annoyance. They could get along great when they wanted two but there was no stopping them once one of them was done with the others shit.

"Sorry to break up this love fest you two," Jim spoke up, "but Bones, you need to help her up here."

"Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor not an escalator."

Arden snorted loudly and found Leonard glaring at her in response. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and proceeded to ruffle his nearly parted hair.

Leonard thought about putting her on his shoulders the way he had with Jim but immediately dismissed the idea. She was much shorter than Jim and would have an even harder time getting up there even with Jim pulling her through, plus he didn't want to take a chance about having her foot smack him in the face. He already had enough of that for one day.

"Now alright darlin'," his southern drawl getting more prominent as he addressed her, "step on my hands and I will push you up."

He placed his hands in some sort of base. He remembered that was the way the cheerleaders did it back in Mississippi State, but then again, what did he know, it wasn't as though there was a great view from the bleachers.

If it had been any other person, she would have been weary, but Arden trusted Leonard above all people. He hadn't once betrayed her trust and she doubted today would be the day. The blonde, nodded gently and placed the sole of her shoe in his hands. Before she pressed her weight down, her hands gripped onto his shoulders firmly, her nails digging into him painfully.

"I'm not going to let you fall."

She knew that but sometimes a little reminder was good for the soul. The death grip that was on his shoulders loosened it as he rose her to the air. As soon as she was high enough, Jim grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her through the ventilation.

Arden wiggled around as she attempted to turn back and give her lonesome friend a thumbs up and let him know they were okay, but as she shifted over, her head slammed against the ceiling with a clank. Jim winced for her. Arden managed to raise her arm over the opening and signal the older man a thumbs-up.

"See you in a bit," she called

Arden turned back over to find Jim ahead of her. He was somehow crawling through, occasionally bumping an elbow on the wall. Arden hurried behind him, her pants scraping across the material below her.

Silence, never once over took the space they crawled in. Just when one thought it was getting too quiet the other would make a joke or a comment that would rattle the whole place. At one point Jim made a threat about farting in her face if she didn't stop teasing him. To say the least, by the end of the journey, Arden was a very unhappy cadet.

Finding the other opening to the vent was a bit of a challenge for Jim but he had managed to get the thing open. Without a warning, Jim jumped down and she followed.

The room was just what she had suspected, empty and dark. The large supercomputer that sat in the room took up the majority of the space.

Jim watched the way Arden cracked her knuckles and headed to the computer as though she had experience sneaking into strange rooms before. In all honesty he would have been all too surprised. A bright neon light broke the darkness in the room and he shielded his eyes in the process.

Arden stood next to the computer pulling a small device out of her breast pocket which she plugged into the hard drive of the computer. Jim came to her side, poking his head over her shoulder to see a password generator already in action.

"What is that," he whispered, placing his chin on her shoulder.

"I used to date this hacker my first year in the academy. He made this for me. It transfers data, but there is also a password generator programmed into it."

"Cool, did you use this to get your dad's pass codes?"

She laughed.

"No, my dad's codes aren't exactly hard to figure out."

He couldn't help but laugh as well. The password generator took another minute to process but when it completed the password didn't look like anything in English or any other earth language in fact. Arden didn't seem to notice because she was already running a search on the entire computer. He watched her search for "KOBAYASHI + MARU" and several files popping up that contained the words specified.

Very quickly, and skillfully she started the download of the files back to the device she had brought. She could get all the access she needed by downloading the files and she could do all the work from the comfort of her dorm room.

There were a lot of files, Jim made note of this, as the screen indicated there had been a 20% completed file transfer.

Jim watched her select a file. It popped onto the screen almost instantly. He blinked several time, in wonder why he was having such a hard time reading what was on screen. Maybe he needed to wear his glasses more often than he thought, but after leaning in a bit he realized what his problem was. The entire file was encrypted.

"Shit," she muttered brushed Jim off her shoulder as she selected another file and finding it was also encrypted.

Jim knew enough about programming to know that trying to decrypt an encrypted file, wasn't going to be the easiest thing to do. Arden needed the right key code in order to revert the program and get the actual data she was looking for.

He was frustrated, like her but they had to look on the bright side. At least they had the files now and decrypting the program was the only thing they still had to do. Jim placed his hands on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.

"It would have been too easy if there weren't an encryption code."

She nodded in agreement. The download was up to 70%.

"But once we get the encryption code, it's going to be a walk in the park," he reassured her

"Yeah I get that but it's going to take me a while to come up with the encryption algorithm."

He frowned, from the tone of her voice, getting the algorithm was going to take more time than they had. If only Jim knew someone who could help him figure it out.

Blue eyes snapped viciously. Gaila. It wasn't as though he were seeing Gaila for her perky personality. He felt so stupid, forgetting he was sleeping with a computer technician who just happened to have a habit of talking in her sleep.

Gaila was perfect and he was sure with the _right_ sort of convincing he would be able to get something out of her that could possibly be useful for the encryption code.

Jim leaned over pressing his lips to her ear.

"Let me take care of it. I know some stuff about computers."

"Are you sure," she sounded a bit worried and he guessed it was just because she didn't want him ruining her program. He chuckled.

"Have a little faith Arden. I am a genius after all."

A small beep came from the computer as the completion meter read 100%. The male, snatched the device tucking it into his pocket.

Getting back up the vent wasn't as hard as it had been the first time. Jim pushed her up first and Jim managed to get a boost by standing on the super computer before jump high enough that Arden caught hold of his hands to pull him up. The room was left the same way they had found it; they had even placed the covering back so it didn't look as though someone had entered through that way.

They got back to the room quickly only to find Bones frowning, still upset about the nose kicking incident.

"Did you guys find what you were looking for," Leonard grumbled helping Arden down from the vents.

Before she could answer, Jim uttered a "yep," sliding off the edge and nailing his landing like a gymnast. He brushed himself off and crossed the room to check the door once again

"Were things alright on your end?"

Arden's hand trailed over Leonard's arm as she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary,"

"Good,"

He took note in the fact that she hadn't noticed he had spent the last fifteen minutes of his time, trying to make the computer lab look as though it hadn't just been broke into. The things he had thrown at Jim earlier were back were they belonged and he even made sure the table, Jim so graciously slammed into, was still in the right spot.

The room echoed with electrical mayhem. Jim hadn't bothered in trying with the door like he had earlier; instead he ripped two wires off of each other, watching the sliding doors swoosh open. Slamming the lid to the wiring box shut, he poked a head out, looking in both directions before ushering the two.

"We're clear. Let's go before someone shows up."

There was no debate, they left, Jim leading the way through halls and staircases. The blond was practically the expert when it came to the building. He had been sneaking in for weeks, just watching simulation videos and trying to understand the Kobayashi Maru simulation and its weeknesses. Out of all the times he snuck inside, not once did he get caught. He knew a door, security always forgot to lock. That was how they got inside, they took the side entrance and managed to get past security.

Being the leader Jim led his party through the building, to the door. As soon as they made it, Jim pushed on the handle, expecting the door to swing open. It didn't. He tried again, as though determined that he hadn't pushed hard enough. One again, nothing happened.

Shit.

"Don't tell me the door is locked," Bones grumbled

"Ok, I won't, but it's locked."

Leonard sighed heavily and looked at the kid as though he wanted to bash his head in. Arden held out her arm as soon as she saw the look. She wasn't worried for Jim and was sure he would be fast enough to move, if her friend tried to grab him, but this wasn't the time or place to be getting into fights.

"Leonard, it's not a big deal, let's just find an emergency exit or something,"

Jim agreed.

The three Cadets twisted through the hallway turning sharply in the other direction if they suddenly saw a security guard monitoring a certain hallway. Of course Leonard expressed how discontent he was of the situation. After several doors later, and no way out, Jim threw his arms in the air.

"New plan, we're going to get security to open the door for us."

Leonard and Arden shared a look. He had lost it. Maybe he hit his head one too many time up in that vent to actually think straight.

"And exactly why would they do that?"

"Because," Jim rolled his eyes like it were obvious, "you're sick and Bones here is the doctor that's going to try and save your life."

Yep, he had defiantly lost it.

"What are you trying to play at kid? If these guys see us here, we are busted and they are going to figure out you snuck in that room."

"Come on Bones, have a little faith."

"Faith? You want me to have faith, you idiotic brat? Oh I'll give you faith alright. I'll give you—"

Before Leonard could finish his threat, Jim found a metal wastebasket and kicked it. The object slammed against the wall before it bounced off, landing on the floor with a loud clank. It proceeded to roll across the ground, every rotation managed to make more noise.

Arden grabbed Jim by the shoulders, her piercing blue eyes shooting at him. He was an idiot.

"Do you want to get caught Kirk!"

"It's going to work, don't worry."

"It's not, you know why, because I'm about to _kill_ you!"

Over Arden's yelling neither Jim nor her heard the sound of shoes scraping across the floor in their direction. Only Leonard, who was watching Arden choke Jim to death, heard it. As much as he would have liked to see Jim get his ass handed by a 125 pound girl, they didn't have much of an option than to try out Jim's plan.

The doctor grabbed the petite blonde, wrapping an arm around her hip and pulling her off of his roommate. Being as light as she was, her feet lifted off the ground long before she let Jim go.

"Darlin' how about you do this back at the door room. In the mean time I need you to lie here and moan like you're in pain."

He placed her on the ground in a sitting position. The scraping of shoes against the floor was getting louder and louder to the point where the others now heard it too. Jim got on his knees, across from where Leonard was, and pressed down on her shoulders, trying to get her lying down.

"Come on Arden you've got to do it."

"But-"

Leonard rolled his eyes in frustration. He pushed her down sharply and gave her a pinch, a warning to listen to him. She moaned out a curse right as the security guard came prancing in.

It took him a moment to realize there were three students sitting in the hall. He frowned.

"What the hell are you guys doing in here," the security guard questioned.

He stopped over Arden who had a hand draped over her eyes and her face twisted in fake pain. Leonard's glanced up and shot the security guard a nasty look.

"What are you doing, can't you see the woman's in pain."

The security guard stood there in confusion.

"I asked you, what are you three doing here?"

Jim's eyes wondered between Arden who had managed to get tears in her eyes and Bones who was slipping into his doctor mode. In one swift motion, he noticed the way his roommate pulled out of Academy ID and flashed it at the guard. He had seen the ID plenty of times to know it clearly indicated he was part of the Medical school.

"I'm a doctor and unless you want an acute case on your hands I suggest you give the woman some space."

Not letting the guard see his ID too clearly to catch his name, he pocketed his ID and he turned back at Jim and then at the blonde at his knees. Leonard brought a hand to her cheek and wiped the tears from her face. "Ok darlin', we're going to get you up and bring you to the infirmary,"

"But doctor-"

"Everything's going to be alright," he reassured her and glanced up from his patient "Can you open the door?"

Jim was beginning to try and help her up. He had a hand on the small of her back and hitched her arm over his shoulder as a support.

The guard's eyes darted around in confusion and Leonard's mentally smirked. The guard was beginning to panic, that meant he was going to make a mistake. Maybe Jim's idea wasn't as bad as he had first thought.

"Yeah I can open the door, but what happened to her?"

"What happened to her!" Leonard snapped, getting the blonde to her feet, "Do you really want to know what the hell happened to her! The woman is suffering from an immediate postprandial upper abdominal distension. Now open the door and get out of the way so I can help this patient before things get worse"

He knew he scared people senseless some times and thanked god for having that ability. The guard twiddled around with his keys in a frenzy, scared Doctor McCoy would start yelling at him again if he didn't listen. Once he found the right key, he opened the door without question. The boys carried Arden out, each on either side of her. When made it far enough that the guard could no longer see them from door, Jim called out into the dark.

"Hey Bones, what did you say she got anyway,"

"You sure you want to know," The two blondes nodded their head, "cramps."

* * *

A/N: If you guys want, you can follow me on tumblr. My blog is "doctor-leonard-horatio-mccoy".

also reviews would be nice. Just tell me what you think about this chapter. Any lines you really enjoyed, any events, it doesn't really matter. for all I care you can rant on about how perfect Jim or bones is.

Reviews always brighten my day and i love to know what you guys are thinking.


	13. The Song Remains The Same

When the three Cadets got back to the dorms after their encounter with the security guard the only thing on their minds was sleep. The program could wait a few hours while they rest. Each boy took their respected beds while, Arden passed out right on top of Jim, with out any care in the world.

By the next morning, Jim had ended up on the floor, the young female, hogging the bed as though it were her own. When Jim woke up to the scene, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down to the floor with him.

However, messing around wasn't on their lists of things to do that Wednesday. Leonard had a 12 hour shift at the hospital. Arden, well she had to study for a few finals. Jim's day consisted of two tests and decrypting the files from the night before.

The three friends parted ways early in the morning. Arden spent all day in the library with, several texts on Xeno-Phychology in front of her. By 1700 hours she had given up, pretending as though she understood what she was reading and went several building over to practice hand-to-hand combat.

She learned a few basic moves from her father but got most of her training in with Jim. He was good, real good. Good enough that he was even teaching the underclassmen how to fight.

Arden enjoyed what she did at the Academy. She enjoyed sitting around all day researching and learning about weaponry but combat was different. Weaponry was simply mechanics and understanding how everything worked, combat however was all about tactics.

Arden stood in the large room. Mats spread out where student trained. There were less than 10 of them who had volunteered their time that evening because they wanted to practice.

Leaning back, Arden felt her bare legs, exposed under her short pressed against the cement wall behind her. The other's who sat out beside her were watching Cadet Fitz and Cadet Stone lying on the mat. Fitz had his legs around Stones middle and levered his arm back. Fitz waited desperately for Stone to tap out.

Raising her arms high in the air, Arden folded over her waist stretching out her legs in preparation for her next spar. From behind her long fluid hair, she could make out tall legs slide beside her quietly. When she craned her neck enough she could make out the turtleneck undershirt that held the body as though it were a second skin. She could tell, just by the hands, who it was. Out of annoyance, she whipped up finding warm eyes looking over at her.

Jim.

"Vulcan," he whispered, sliding over more, practically on top of her.

"Um okay, maybe if you formed sentences I could actually understand you."

Her head snapped back to the mats after a loud roar came from the others watching. Cadet Stone tapped out, and now sat on the mat completely exhausted. Jim glanced over as well, for a second before he grabbed her bare arm, demanding the attention back on himself.

"The thing is in Vulcan," Jim pulled out the device she had stored the files in the night before and waved it around chest level, "I just spent all day decrypting those files everything inside is written in Vulcan."

She nodded her head, letting the message completely skim over her head. How the hell did he find her? She hadn't told anyone where she was going. Was he stalking her?

Arden narrowed her eyes in a very Kirk like fashion.

"How did you know I would be in here?"

"We've known each other for years, it wasn't hard to figure out—that isn't the point. Arden concentrate with me." Jim grabbed her face so ungracefully it was like he slapped her. She flinched, finding Jim's lips hovering her face, speaking in slow increments. "I. Decrypted. The. Files."

"You decrypted the files," she repeated in almost a question. Her eyes widened suddenly and her hands found his shoulders, "You decrypted the files! That's awesome but wait a minute, I don't know Vulcan."

"But I do. I can translate what you need to know."

She chuckled, shaking her head and pushing Jim off of her. She loved him and had no idea what she would do without his help. Out habit she combed her hand through her hair and opened her mouth to compliment him but her voice was muffled out by Commander Zion who stood by the mats, overseeing the sparring practice. He was the first to notice Jim out of the rest of the crowd.

"Kirk, are you distracting her," Commander Zion's voice echoed through the room.

"No sir," he bellowed, his smirk trying its very best to repress its self as he spoke.

Jim was familiar with Commander Zion from all his times sparing. Commander Zion shook his head, and watched Jim's eyes wandered to the blonde beside him quickly.

"Good," Zion jerked his head, "Pike you're up. So are you Dean."

Cadet Samuel Dean stepped off the wall. He was the same build as Leonard, but more muscles and a harder face. She had seen him spar before and noted he was good. Jim clapped a hand on her back.

"You totally got this guy," Jim whispered in an almost teacher like ton, "don't forget, guys' sense of gravity is on their shoulders. Stay low to the ground and wait till he's too tired."

"I know."

Arden retreated to the mat. It was warm and sticky with sweat from the last fight and she made sure her bare feet avoided the sweat stains that were slowly drying. Blood rushed through her ears so loudly she didn't even hearing Commander Zion announce the start of the spar. It wasn't until Dean threw a swing to the face did she notice the game was on.

It was easy to block his blow when she saw it coming. She took a side step to the left and swung her foot high in the air in an attempt to get him in the face but Dean grabbed her ankle, jerking her closer to his center.

Falling forward, Arden's hands slammed against the mat in front of her, her left foot still planted firmly on the ground. She didn't even have to look at Dean to know the mistake he was about to make. Both his hands gripped around her ankle, leaving him defenseless. She took a chance and shifted all her weight from her foot onto her hands. She kicked her left leg behind her and found the heel of her foot make contact with Dean's chin. He stumbled back, dropping her right foot and she managed to kick both her legs over her head landing back on her feet gracefully.

The fight continued with both getting good hits at each other but not enough to actually make the other person give up. Jim's advice did work, she stayed low, made Dean do all the work. She had this. Jim's words latched onto her like a tide. It gripped her so hard she barely noticed the thought _Vulcan_ appear back in her mind.

Dean swung and she blocked with her arm. _Why the program was in Vulcan?_ There was another swing, another block. _It would only be in Vulcan if that were the programmers first language_.

She paused for a half second, one name popping in her head.

Spock.

It was a mistake, a terribly stupid mistake to even hesitate like that in a fight but it was too late. The moment her thought slipped to Spock, Dean's fist had already come in contact with her face.

She wasn't sure what had happened until she had opened her eyes again. She hadn't passed out or anything but she was in shock. She wasn't sure if there was any noise coming from the group watching them but all she knew was that raw blood was drooling from her mouth, a puddle already forming on the mat where she lied.

Licking her lips, she tasted iron. She wasn't sure what snapped in her at that moment but the last clear thing she could remember was standing up from the mat and jumping at Cadet Dean in anger.

* * *

Leonard McCoy glanced up in annoyance at the buzzing light positioned above his head. He silently grumbled, in wonder, how his patient could stand being stuck in that room all day with that constant buzzing. With his tongue rolling over his lips, he looked back down at his patients charts in his hand.

"Your surgery went very well Mrs. Parker. If you keep it up, you should be getting discharged in a matter of days."

"Thank you, Doctor."

The elderly woman, gripping the ends of her sheets tightly, smiled up at him. He bowed his head in a silent "you're welcome" and hooked the electronic chart back onto the frame of the bio bed. He gave his patient a reassuring look, the way a doctor would when he had faith in his patients' recovery.

"Don't be afraid to call me or one of the nurses, if you need anything," he assured, inching toward the door that separated her from the rest of the hospital.

The elderly woman nodded her head in agreement and Leonard left silently. He was exhausted to his bones but it wasn't as though he hadn't done long shifts before. He had trained for this, being on his feet for long hours of the day, doing surgeries and such but after the adventure he had the night before he was dragging his feet only wishing the next two hours could go by quickly enough.

Leonard passed by the nurses' station, at an attempt to grab a few things before heading to his next patient. Walking by the station he saw a group of nurses huddled whispering to one another. He didn't pay much attention to their chatter even if they always seemed to talk too loudly for his taste.

"Any idea when he's supposed to wake up," the red head nurse asked the brunette beside her.

Leonard snorted grabbing a chart, letting his eyes wonder and process the progress his patient were doing after surgery. The brunette he recognized as Williams shrugged her shoulders.

"No clue, rumor is she knocked him out pretty badly. I heard it took about 3 three people to pull her off of him."

"It's not as though she came out dandy herself. There was blood all over her and I'm pretty sure not all of it was hers."

One of the nurses, sitting behind the station clicked her tongue shaking her head in disapproval.

"I didn't see that. But I did hear, she accidently punched a Commander's who was overseeing everything. Oh course I don't really know but it—"

"Will you nurses stop gossiping like a bunch of school girls?"

He couldn't stand it anymore. They could at least pretend as though they were doing their jobs. The nurses, who were huddled together, stopped talking abruptly after his outburst, staring at Leonard as though he were some unknown species.

One the nurses, a blonde, cocked her head to the side, speaking up for the others.

"How is she doing Doctor?"

He frowned.

"How's who doing?"

The nurse sitting behind the station handed something to the blonde and she held out a chart for him. He took it out of curiosity.

"They brought her in about 10 minutes ago."

He read the chart and his eyes caught the name **Arden Amelia Pike** written bolding on the page along with her room number and the reason she was there. A fight. He cursed, the muscles on his face spazzing with anger.

"Excuse me," her growled, practically slamming the chart down on the nurses' station.

He turned through the hall and found the room indicated on the chart with ease. It was standard procedure to knock before entering but his head was racing with so many panicked thought he simply opened the door. Arden sat on the edge of a Biobed, shirt off, creaming white skin covered in burses. Most of her face covered in blood from a deep cut above her brow. He could see her lip was swollen and a dark purple patch under her eye.

She looked bad, worse than he had ever seen her before, yet she was smiling, laughing even with Jim at her knee, holding her hand speaking to her calmly.

"Oh baby, they didn't make me the treasurer of the Xeno-linguistics club for nothing. I am quite proficient when it comes to the use of my tongue," Jim joked.

Arden rolled her eyes the best she could right before she noticed Leonard dead at the door, his usual tan skin, now pale under the florescent lightly.

"I guess it was a matter of time, before you found out," she tried to chuckle but it turned into a sort of whine.

Jim spun around from the rolling chair he had claimed as his own and didn't know how to react to the sight of his roommate standing at the door in shock.

It took a moment but Leonard recovered, shutting the door behind him.

"What happened to you?"

"Sparring incident. I wasn't paying attention and I blocked at the wrong moment and had a fist to the face."

"It's true, I was there, saw the whole thing. Truth be told, once she managed to take her face off the floor, the other guy was sure regretting hitting her."

He wanted to yell even throw a punch at something. How could she do something so…Jim like? Yet he brushed his feeling aside and crossed the room, in wonder if she were alright. How could the nurses just leave her there as though she didn't look like that? How could they bring her back without trying to at least clean her up in the very least?

"Has a nurse looked at you yet?"

"No."

"Damn nurses can't do anything but gossip," he muttered.

He was going to have a serious talk with those women when he had the chance. In the mean time he had important things to do. Leonard stopped in front of her, once Jim's rolled himself out of the way. He hitched her face up toward the light to get a better look at the damage. From the way her cheek was sagging, he guessed she had probably broken her cheekbone.

"Fuck."

He dropped her chin and grabbed several things from one of the counters. Cotton balls, swabs and of course sterilization. He tired to clean off her face from the blood, trying his best not to press against her cheek too badly. It didn't matter. Every time he got near that spot, she winced in pain. Leonard hated hearing the noise came from her as though he were doing something wrong, but he knew better. There was no way of avoiding the pain.

He cleaned off the cut above her brow, and noticed it was still bleeding only slightly. Arden sat quietly, studying the hard look on her friends face as he did his handy work. Hazel eyes slipped from her face to her breasts, and then to her torso where purple bruises covered her body.

"Hold this to your head," he instructed.

Her fingers brushed against his as she took hold of the object pressed against her brow. Leonard went and grabbed a Tricorder from one of the cabinets.

"I'm just going to scan you."

She didn't speak when he rose the Tricord to her head and down to her waist. He read the information in front of him. He was going to kill her for getting hurt this badly.

Her vitals were all over the place, blood pressure low, and heart rate high. Her cheekbone was fractured, and she had breaks on her 3rd and 5th ribs. There were definite signs of internal bleeding but nothing deadly.

"How bad is it doc?"

"Well you're not dyin'."

"Thank you Mr. Optimistic."

He snorted.

Relief was all he asked for but he couldn't grasp his mind around what happened. How could she have turned out so bad, couldn't Jim jump in and stop her? He was furious and annoyed beyond belief so when he jammed the hypo on her neck there was a slight satisfaction as she screamed "What the fuck McCoy".

Leonard rolled his eyes.

"It's a muscle relaxant; it's going to help when I use the regenerator."

"Oh please not that," she begged

"Stop being such an infant or else you can walk around with a fractured cheekbone for the rest of your life."

She grumbled some very unpleasant comments in his direction but didn't once trying and slip off the bed as he first regenerated the cut over her brow and then her cheekbone. By the end of the regeneration he was shaking. Not his body, bus his hands. His damn hands, the ones that were known for being one of the steadiest in the world, were now shaking.

Damnit, what was going on with him? His entire foundation was falling apart all because Arden went and did something stupid. Leonard wiped the sweat off his hands on his white tunic.

He couldn't do this. Not with her at least.

"I'm going to call a nurse over."

The tone of his voice came out harsher than he wanted and he couldn't even look at her before he stepped out the room in a hurry.

"He's angry," she whispered

Jim's eye widened and his mouth formed into a "no." He shushed her, taking her hand in his.

"Bone isn't mad at you. He's just worried." The sigh that left her lips only indicated she didn't believe him. Jim stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, leaning in closer to her broken body, "You know Bones, it's impossible for him to be mad at you, even if you did something really bad. He cares, more than anyone out there."

She wasn't listening.

He hated the way she shut off sometime especially when things came to Bones. He knew he had to do something, anything. Jim rose from the rolling chair and ruffled her hair gently.

"I'll be right back, just wait for me."

The first thing Jim did when he left the room was look for his roommate. He looked through the halls aimlessly, practically getting lost in the place, until he got directions from a very pretty nurse who happened to know where Bones ran off to.

When Jim poked his head in the restroom he saw Bones hunched over the sink, water running on full blast. His breathing was hitched as though he had run a marathon he wasn't prepared for and his face was damp with sweat.

"Bones?"

Leonard's head snapped up and their eyes met through the reflection in the mirror.

"What?"

"Are you okay man?"

Bones snapped around his eyes giving him an even edgier glare than usual.

"Does it look like I'm okay? I'm not damnit; I think I'm having a heart attack or something."

"Do you want me to call someone for help," Jim leaned toward the door, ready to hear a "yes" from his friend. There wasn't a response. Crap. This was bad, if Bones said he was having a heart attack it must be true. Jim stepped toward the door, making the decision himself. "I'm just going to call someone."

"Just give me a minute,"

"Bones, if you're having a heart attack a minute is going to be a little late."

"Damnit Jim, give me a minute!"

Jim stood there, in the restroom like an idiot, shifting on his feet uncomfortably. He listened though, and didn't attempt to leave his friend. Leonard ran a hand though his hair in desperation and even from where Jim stood, he could see his friend's head racing with thoughts.

"What happened to her," he finally asked.

"I knew you were worried," Bones didn't deny it, "She told you what happened. She got distracted and got knocked in the face. She went crazy after that."

The muscles on Leonard's jaw tightened. He didn't buy the story at all.

"She's a good as you when it comes to fighting; something isn't going to _just_ distract her."

Jim knew he had a point. She was good; no doubt about it but even the best could get distracted. Jim took a step toward his friend, not at all sorry for what he was about to say.

"Bones, it was my fault. I told her something before she sparred and I shouldn't have"

"Jim—"

"I should have waiting, I realize that. I'm sorry. Most of the time, I don't think before I do things. My dad was like that too you know, at least that's what Captain Pike says. He described my dad as being the type who would leap without looking and that it was just in his nature to do so. The apple doesn't fall that far from the tree I guess."

He tried to chuckle brush off the comments of his father as though it weren't a big deal. It wasn't a big deal but his damn instinct always made bad thing happen. It wasn't just Arden it was other things like Tarsus IV.

"Damnit kid, stop talking like that!"

"Just let me finish, okay? If I knew my stupidity would have caused this I wouldn't have said anything. Shit, it seems like this always happens. I always do something fucked up and she's always the one being punished for it. Hell she's isn't the only one. Back when I was on Tarsus it was the same thing. Maybe if I didn't have such fucked up idea some of those kids would still be alive. Arden is just an additional thing I have to live with. I am sorry. I know I can be a fuck up but I didn't mean for any of this to happen to her. You need to believe me."

Jim was so distracted with his talking he hadn't noticed his hands were balled into tight fists and he was trembling. He was fucked up, he knew that and he was just a magnet when it came to bad things, staring with his dad being dead and Sam leaving and ending up on Tarsus IV. It was all _his_ fault.

If he hadn't found Leonard's arms wrapped around him he didn't know what he would do. Jim rested his forehead on his friends shoulder trembling from the memories.

"Jim," Bones spoke calmly, "What happened in Tarsus wasn't your fault."

The blond didn't talk about Tarsus IV, the only person he ever mentioned the incident to was Bones. He was his doctor; he saw the stuff on his medical records regarding the incident.

Jim tried to nod but couldn't.

"I know that Leonard," he broke for his typical nickname, "you keep telling me that. Everyone who knows keeps telling me that, but it still doesn't make me feel any better."

"Listen to me, you were a child. There was nothing you could do."

Jim shook his head, burying his head in his friends shoulder. He didn't want to remember, he didn't want to remember any of it.

Jim felt a hand stroke the back of his head.

"You're stronger than this Jim. Look how far you've made it. You're at the academy, proving you are more than just George Kirk's son. You're one of the strongest people I know and you're not a fuck up either. So stop telling yourself that."

Jim could see what people talked about, that sort of spark Bones had when comforting people. That sort of feeling he gave off that made it seem as though everything would be alright even if it wasn't. He didn't have to smile or anything, just the tone of his voice was good enough to calm him down. When he had managed to stop shaking, Bones gripped Jim's shoulder, giving the man in front of him a stern look.

"I'm not lying to you. You can do amazing things Jim because you have this drive in you. Not many people have that and that's what makes you unique. So don't go telling yourself you're a piece of shit or a fuck up, because guess what kid, everyone fucks up eventually. You know what else you're damn lucky, you know why, 'cause you have two friends who are going to stick with you no matter what."

Jim didn't move or indicate he had processed any of this in his head. Bones threw an arm over his friends shoulder and gave Jim a nudge toward the door. He walked out with him, letting his hand rub up and down the back of his undershirt.

It didn't matter to Leonard if he still felt as though his heart were about to explode or if he thought he was losing his mind. His friends needed him, more than anything. He was a doctor; it was his job to fix people.

Leonard walked Jim back to the room, making sure to stay close in case Jim tipped over and fell on his knees. To say the least he didn't.

"Come on kid, smile for me, you don't want to make her worried do you," Jim shook his head, "if you don't smile right now, Jesus Christ help me, I'm going to hurt your ass."

Jim smiled, that is if he even considered it a smile. It was horrific not genuine at all. Leonard leaned in and pinched Jim on the neck. He let out a whine.

"You wounded me Bones."

"Good thing I'm a doctor hu?"

Even Bones wanted to smile because the damn idiot busted into a grin. A real "James T. Kirk" sort of grin, the one he had become familiar with since his enrollment in the Academy.

"Thanks Bones."

"Don't mention it kid. Just get your ass in there and keep her company, will ya. I asked Chapel to get her situated before you found me. If she ain't in there yet, she should be coming."

Jim nodded eagerly and felt Bones clamp his back steadily before walking down the hall. When Jim opened the door he wasn't surprised to see Christine Chapel already inside practically telling off her roommate. Arden made a face but automatically perked up when she noticed Jim.

"Jim,"

"Hey baby, you alright," he asked trying to pretend the incident in the bathroom didn't just happen.

Arden didn't notice the difference she was too much in pain even with the muscle relaxant she was given. She ended up mouthing no and made a gesture to Christine who was currently looking over her ribs.

Christine wasn't stupid and noticed the gesture immediately; in return she chose to be not so gentle when it came to poking around with her ribs. Arden winced trying to give Jim a smile but could only manage a "thumbs up".

Jim fell back on the seat beside the Biobed. He purposely slid the chair closer to the two women.

"You know Christine, if I knew you looked _that_ good in that uniform I would be here more often."

He saw the way she smirked at the comment and completely ignore him. He sighed heavily as though her not talking to him were a bid deal. He needed something to lighten up the mood.

"Damnit, you nurses really know how to reject a guy."

"James," Christine turned to him, her hands hovering in the air "I appreciate the comment but I'm doing a job here. I don't know if Doctor McCoy can stand your constant flirting but I'm not going to tolerate it. You see that hypo right there," She pointed to the counter beside her "It's a sedative, and there's plenty more where that came from. So shut up."

"You know, the _chase_ is what I live for."

Christine turned back angrily and grabbed the hypo. He closed his eyes expecting to feel the sharp shot on his neck but the small yelp beside him told him he wasn't the target. He poked an eye open to find Arden in shock.

"What did I even do to you-" Arden dropped like a board before she finished her last sentence.

"Unbelievable." Christine muttered shaking her head. The hypo had been for Arden but the annoyance she felt by Jim made her slam the hypo down a bit too hard.

"So, she is going to get up in like a half hour right?"

Christine looked at that she wanted to claw his eyes out. He made note to keep his distance just in case something snapped.

"Jim," she tried to say very calmly, "I gave her enough so that she'll wake up tomorrow morning."

"She isn't leaving today?"

"No! Arden is in serious but stable condition. She'll be lucky enough if Doctor McCoy lets her out tomorrow. I need to strap on regenerators all over her body, stop the internal bleeding and fix the bone breaks and fractures. She isn't leaving."

Jim blinked slowly. It was the first time he had heard what was really wrong with her. It only made him feel worse and even sick to his stomach. He was pretending to be alright for her sake but now that she was knocked out there was no one to fool.

He knew he needed to listen to Bones' words of advice but it was pretty damn hard to when he knew Arden was there because of him. Such a fuck up.

"Chapel," Christine opened her mouth to yell at him again but stopped short when she saw the look in his eyes, the hurt and discomfort he was feeling, "do you think it's alright if I stay here a bit longer?"

"Just be quiet, okay?"

He nodded silently and watched Christine rest Arden's body in a more comfortable position; draping blankets over her once she had aligned the regenerators and let it run. By the time Christine was finished Jim's head buzzed painfully. He didn't even realize she left the two alone until he felt a blanket draped over his shoulders.

All he wanted to do was forget about the program all together, she wouldn't have gotten hurt if it weren't for it but he couldn't throw it away. He needed the program to pass the test and she needed it to graduate. Despite all the wrong that had happened that day. Jim grabbed a PADD along with the files and he worked his ass off, right at her bed side.

Jim translated the Vulcan he thought was necessary for the subroutine making copies of the translation that held the codes for the Klingon shield and such. He was going to prove to everyone including himself he wasn't as fucked up as he thought. He worked until he heard the door click behind him.

Bones who was out of his white tunic was taken back with shock.

"Jim, what are you still doin' there? I thought you left hours ago."

Leonard crossed across the space of the room.

Jim shrugged.

"Christine said I could stay a bit longer as long as I'm quiet."

"Oh Jim," Leonard sighed and grabbed his friend under the arm, hoisting him off the chair, "She's going to be just fine. She needs sleep, as do you. Let's go, she'll be right here in the morning."

He didn't want to leave, not yet but Doctor knew best. Jim nodded his head in agreement and headed to the door. He turned back when he noticed Leonard wasn't at his side. It didn't even bother him to see Leonard leaned over, kissing the top of her head before joining him on their trip back to the dorm.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the support during this story you guys. leave a review, tell me What you want to see more of. Do you want more angst when it come to Tarsus IV with Jim or do you want more interaction with Arden and Spock or do you want something else all together. Let me know :)


End file.
